Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 607 Ignorance and Wisdom Coexist

In another time and space, the spacious and beautiful Paris is actually the masterpiece of Haussmann, the mayor of Paris in the mid-nineteenth century.It took him more than ten years to completely remodel the entire city from top to bottom, and only then did he have the embryonic form it is today.As for Paris at this time, it is still a traditional city left over from the Middle Ages.There are wooden sheds everywhere beside the ancient buildings, dilapidated; the streets are narrow and crowded, the sewage flows horizontally, the ground is full of human and animal excrement, and the stench is everywhere, so that the king does not want to live in the city.

How does the old saying come from?Enter the abalone's place, and you won't smell its stink for a long time.

From the moment Le Havre landed, an inexplicable smell lingered around Zhao Xin; after attending a dinner attended by the mayor, councilors and gorgeous women, His nostrils were filled with a strong smell of perfume.When I woke up on the third day, the allergic rhinitis that I hadn't had for many years finally came to my door.

Well, I can't smell anything now, so happy!
When the long carriage entered the urban area of ​​Paris, it was greeted by countless citizens who heard the news.The "sans-culottes" in Paris looked curiously at the "sans-culottes" from the East. When they saw that the Chinese in the covered carriage were actually wearing straight trousers, they burst into enthusiasm cheers.Only some well-informed businessmen are surprised, because the dress and even the mental outlook of these Chinese people are completely different from those in the porcelain and picture albums; the most important thing is that there is no braid!

Among the people in Beihai Town, except Zhao Xin and Deng Fei, including Jiao Xun, Huang Chengji, and Er Lu, they all looked indifferent to the boiling in front of them.You must know that they have already experienced a scene of nearly [-] spectators in Le Havre before, and now they are nothing but insignificant.

"Mr. Jiao, this place is really dirty, far worse than our Beihai Town!"

After hearing Erlu's words, Huang Chengji took it seriously, nodded and said: "Every house here looks unique, but I don't know what's inside."

Erlu interjected: "I think they all look the same, similar to that in Le Havre."

Huang Chengji retorted: "Er Battalion Commander, this place is the capital of a country, how can it be the same as a port! Cousin Li, don't you think so?"

At this time, Jiao Xun's mind was not on the scenery outside the carriage at all. The reason why he was willing to travel thousands of miles to the west was not only to have a glimpse of the scenery, but also to meet the European mathematicians of this era.If Euler hadn't passed away nine years ago, he really wanted to visit her in person.

Since being framed by relatives and rescued by Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang, Jiao Xun's view of human nature has become more and more pessimistic, and since then he has plunged into books without asking about anything.In the past two years in Beihai Town, Jiao Xun, who has been immersed in mathematics, has almost finished reading the few mathematics books in the library, and the teachers in the elementary school are not enough to teach him.

Zhao Xin had an in-depth talk with Jiao Xun before the Outer Mongolia Campaign started.He said that since you have no intention of official career, then help me do something big.It will take two years to build the first college of higher education in Beihai Town, and you will be the principal.You must know that Beihai Town has elementary schools all over the villages and various technical schools, but there is no university that imparts advanced knowledge.

Jiao Xun is happy to run a school.The ancients said that "establishing words, establishing morality and making meritorious deeds" are three immortals. If you don't become an official, you can also achieve it by educating people's hearts.

There is no need to worry about the literature and history department of the college. Except for the young Zhong Huai and Huang Chengji in the "New Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics", they are all masters of Confucian classics in this era.But science and engineering are too weak. Whether it is Wang Zhenyi or Jiao Xun, their level is at most the high school mathematics of later generations, and even in some aspects they are at the level of junior high school.Those from the iron and steel factory are fine, but their main job is not teaching.

Just when Zhao Xinsi was thinking about whether to recruit more people from another time and space, Degene happened to go to Bacheng to ask for help.As a result, Zhao Xin's eyes naturally fell on those mathematicians in Europe in this era, and Jiao Xun and Huang Chengji followed.

When he was in Senegal, when Jiao Xun learned from Zhao Xin that the situation in France was in turmoil, he felt a little nervous, and wondered if he would be able to meet the mathematicians that Zhao Xin mentioned.

It is said that there were six mathematicians who were the most famous during the "French Revolution", and they were also called the "Six Masters of Mathematics" by later generations.Lagrange who just got married, Condorcet who was a member of the National Convention, Monge who is currently the Minister of the Navy and who will advocate the establishment of the "Paris Ecole Polytechnique" in the future, and Lacroix who will be the dean of the Department of Mathematics of the French Academy in the future. Lazar Carnot, who is the "organizer of victory", and Laplace, who was the first to predict the black hole in the universe.

Oh, right!There was another person, that Fang Hua personally approached Zhao Xin before his departure, and strongly urged him to save a person, "Father of Chemistry" Lavoisier.

Although they were all born in the [-]th century, their achievements were first-class even in later generations; it was the research and theories of these people that laid the foundation of modern mathematics.

We must know that the three industrial revolutions in human history would not have been possible without the participation of mathematicians and the application of mathematical theories.If Beihai Town wants to build an industrial country, it must have a large number of mathematics talents.

Zhao Xin, who was constantly waving to the crowd on both sides of the road, looked at the faces outside the window and the dilapidated streets, and suddenly the words of Dickens at the beginning of "A Tale of Two Cities" appeared in his mind:
"The time is holy, and the time is evil. This is also the age of ignorance, and this is also the world of wisdom. This is also the season of light, and this is also the season of darkness. This is also the year of faith, and this is also the year of great confusion. This is also beautiful The Yangchun, this is also the poor winter of never thinking. People may have all things, and people may not accomplish anything. In my generation, the blue sky will go straight up, and in my generation, the yellow spring will fall forever."

Deng Fei, who was sitting across from him, heard this, and said, "I found that since you became a teacher with Wang Zhong, you have become more and more polite in your speech. What are you talking about?"

Zhao Xin asked: "Haven't you read the opening paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities?"

"I think I read it in middle school. Is it the phrase 'the best of times and the worst of times'?"

Degene asked curiously: "Mr. Zhao, are you reciting poetry? Can General Deng translate it into French so that I can enjoy it too?"

Zhao Xin thought for a while, and then repeated it in English stumblingly. Before Deng Fei could finish translating, Degene was stunned.After a while, he looked at the scene outside the carriage, recalled the things that happened in Paris before, and repeatedly muttered words such as "ignorant wisdom" and "brightness and dimness", and his eyes became more and more dim
The place where Beihai Town and his party stayed was arranged by the Paris City Council in the unit building at the southeast corner of Place des Vosges.The two buildings are adjacent to each other, and there are four floors including the attic. The red and white exterior walls, the dark blue roof, and the rococo-style decoration look very good from the outside.This is a wealthy area in the city, with good law and order, surrounded by trees, and a beautiful environment. It is completely different from the dilapidated neighborhoods that Zhao Xin and the others saw before.

After everyone got out of the car, the special envoy who made a special trip to Le Havre to welcome the Beihai Town Mission, that is, the secretary of the current Minister of Foreign Affairs and Military Pierre Le Brun——Henri Tondou graciously introduced: "Gentlemen , this used to be the residence of a certain count, but he had fled to Brussels with the count of Provence, so the National Assembly confiscated it and classified it as public property. Before I left, the mayor, Mr. Villeneuve, welcomed the When you come, you have already ordered people to clean up the place."

After Henry Tongdu finished speaking, he asked a row of people who were standing in line at the door to introduce him.

In order to welcome the Great God of Wealth who came from afar, it was a friendly delegation, and the mayor of Paris actually arranged for two full-time butlers who had served nobles—the ones with wigs, knee-length shorts and stockings, more than a dozen A dexterous servant, several cooks and four coachmen.

Zhao Xin and Deng Fei glanced around, then nodded in a fake manner.The two looked at each other, and Deng Fei pulled Henry Tongdu aside and started whispering.Not long after, Henry Tongdu bowed slightly to Deng Fei, walked up to the two butlers and gave orders, so one butler plus the cook, and half of the servants lost their jobs immediately.

Zhao Xin walked up to one of the housekeepers left behind and asked in English, "Can you speak English?"

"A little bit, sir."

"what is it call?"

"August Bouvet, sir."

"Huh?! Worked as a painter before?"

"Sir, you really know how to joke." Bu Wei hid his embarrassment with a smile, and said to himself, how did this man know that my ancestor was a painter?Could it be that Mr. Tondu said it?He couldn't possibly know!

"Okay. I don't care if you've been a painter or not. In fact, I don't care about it." After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he took out a leather bag containing more than 50 half-thalers from his satchel, and handed it to the Bu Wei said: "Go, give all the money to those unemployed guys, don't let them have fun for nothing."

Bu Wei took the money bag in surprise, thinking that it was really heavy.He walked up to the servants who were staring and unwilling to leave, and said, "The Chinese are really rich! Look, they rewarded you, and they said that we can't let everyone's work go to waste."

Upon hearing this, the frustrated unemployed immediately gathered around.Bu Wei distributed two silver coins to each servant, three to the cook, and five to a housekeeper.

Everyone who received the money smiled happily, and they and their families would not have to go hungry for at least a week.And those who stayed saw that the "Master of China" was so generous to those who left, so they would definitely give themselves a lot more, so they worked harder to carry things.

Zhao Xin did this on purpose. In addition to maintaining the mystery of the Orientals, he also wanted to impress the Parisians through small things. They are a group of people who are kind to others, and they will not suspect any strange things in the city in the future. to them.

Afterwards, under the guidance of Bu Wei, Zhao Xin and his party walked into the house and found that the furniture inside was very gorgeous. The corridors and the walls of the living rooms in various rooms were covered with Chinese-style flower and bird wallpapers.Zhao Xin stretched out his hand to touch it, and found that it was actually made of satin.

Bu Wei at the side introduced: "Sir, these wallpapers are all brought back from Guangzhou, and the other rooms are also the same, but the decorations are different."

Zhao Xinxin said I'm a good boy, how much will it cost!At this moment, he thought of those low-level civilians in rags on the street, and couldn't help shaking his head.

Bu Wei thought that Zhao Xin didn't like it, so he hurriedly said, "Sir, if you don't like these, I can find someone to replace them."

"No. That's it."

When Zhao Xin was taken upstairs and downstairs by Bu Wei, what worried him most happened. There was only one bathtub in the whole house, and the worst thing was that there was no toilet. There were only a few wooden boxes. toilet!Considering the public health level of Europeans in the [-]th century, and certain diseases caused by the chaos of the private life of the nobles, Zhao Xin decided that he would not use this thing to kill him!
Although I didn't come to Paris specifically to go to the toilet this time, it's really not a small problem for dozens of people to eat, drink and drink every day.
"Bu Wei, I have a little question I want to ask."

"Please, sir."

"How do you dispose of this toilet every day?"

"Sir, this is not something you should worry about. But since you asked, someone will come to collect it every morning."

"Oh! Then you understand that thing, how will you deal with it?"

Bu Wei turned his head and looked behind him, and said to Zhao Xin in a low voice: "Usually they are transported outside the city to find a place to dump them. If no one pays attention, those people will also secretly dump them into the Seine River."

"Okay, I understand!"

Before leaving, Henry Tondou told Deng Fei that a carriage would come to pick them up at [-]:[-] p.m., and Eli Guardet, chairman of the National Convention, would host a dinner to welcome them, guests from China, including many members of the National Convention. Important people will be in attendance.

After the group settled down after a long time of tossing, Zhao Xin immediately asked Erlu to invite Deng Fei and Degine to his room for a meeting. In addition, two soldiers were placed on guard at the stairway to prevent the housekeeper or servant from arriving without invitation.

Deguigne's home was in Paris, and his father had been the director of the Syriac Department of the French Academy until the Revolution.The first thing he has to do now is to go home and have a look, and by the way, inquire about the situation of the Temple where the king's family is imprisoned.

Zhao Xindao: "It's best to find the floor plan inside and outside the castle. Money is not a problem, you must be careful."

Degigne thought for a while and said: "Actually, the Temple Castle is not far from here, and it takes only ten minutes to walk there. I can take a carriage and pretend to pass by to take a look first. As for the map, there must be one in the Royal Library. This one has to be Let my father figure out a way, he used to work as secretary and translator of the Department of Oriental languages."

Deng Fei added: "Paris is too chaotic, you'd better take a gun with you when you go out, just in case."

In the past few days by boat, the people in the special warfare battalion practice marksmanship against targets in the sea every day, and Degigne sometimes comes to the deck to follow up with two shots. After a long time, he is very good at using the revolver in Beihai town. skilled.

"Okay. I'll be back by seven o'clock in the evening to join you for dinner."

Zhao Xin frowned and said, "Is your noble status okay?"

Deguigne said: "What's the problem? My family doesn't even have a fief. Besides, I'm the one who made your visit possible. Those guys from the National Convention won't touch me!"

Zhao Xin nodded, and asked someone to take two large pots of tea and two bolts of silk from the parcel they brought, and hand them to Degigne to take home.At the same time, he was privately given one hundred gold thalers for activities.

At the same time, an old friend came to the home of Georges Jacques Danton, who had just resigned as Minister of Justice.This person is very young, not yet 30 years old, but he is already the core figure of the Jacobins.Because the Jacobins would sit together on the heights of the conference hall when the National Convention was in session, it was also called the "Mountain School".

The two chatted for a while about the Beihai Town Mission, which had just arrived in Paris, and expressed their views.More than half an hour ago, Zhao Xin's move to pay the dismissed servant had already reached Dandong's ears.

Dandong took a sip of his wine and said with emotion: "It seems that those Chinese are quite rich."

Robespierre said: "I am more concerned about the food they parked on the big white boat at sea."

"Food?" Dandong's eyes widened. "How do you know? How many?"

"They just made a deal of 1360 pounds of wheat ([-] kilograms) in Le Havre before, don't ask me how I know." Robespierre took a sip of his wine and continued: "According to their According to the customs declaration, there was at least [-] pounds of wheat on board."

Dandong raised his glass and said, "Then tonight we will show our abilities and buy all the grain from the Chinese, and we can make a good fortune."

Robespierre smiled and waited for the other party to drink the wine, and suddenly said: "George, to be frank, as a friend, I have to remind you. You have power, money, and are quite popular with everyone, but in my opinion Come on, you are slipping into danger step by step and you don't know it."

Danton looked at each other puzzled, only to hear Robespierre continue: "The rich are afraid of your power and prestige, and try to find opportunities to overthrow you; although the poor will forgive your wealth, the premise is that you use it Wealth brings them revolutionary justice, not when they get rich."

"The justice of the revolution. After such a big circle, what you actually want to say is that I support the execution of the king, right?" Dandong leaned on the sofa, looking at the fair-faced, gray wig with a sneer on his face. skinny companion.

Robespierre pursed his lips, and said in a deep voice, "I don't want to hurt the king or his family. What good does it do me? But the war is not over yet, and we will reach a point where we can't have both. To save the king, or to save the fruits of the revolution, we can only choose one. When that day comes, we need to know how to choose, don't we?"

Danton smiled, but didn't speak.He knew that what Robespierre said was right, but for some reason, at this moment, he had the urge to wring the opponent's neck.

This guy is so cold-blooded that it makes people feel chills from the bottom of his heart!

　The opening chapter of "A Tale of Two Cities" memorized by the protagonist is a joint translation of Lin Shu and Wei Yi in 1928. I personally think this version is more artistic.In addition, in some books, it often appears that "Lefort" is used to pay, which is wrong. "Lefort" is only a book currency and has never actually circulated.In the [-]th century, the French paid daily, usually in "sou", and occasionally in "silver louis".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)