Chapter 105 At the beginning of the new year, double happiness comes!
While wireless communication brought great shock to people, it ended quietly in 1901.
When later generations of historians opened the chronicles and carefully studied what happened in that year, they discovered that many signs had already appeared.
Although many new theories and technologies have emerged, they have not yet benefited the people at the bottom.
So everyone thought at that time that it was just an ordinary year. At most, there was a Qing Dynasty man named Bruce Lee who was very famous and was a topic of conversation.
January 1, 1902, at home in Cambridge.
Li Qiwei is teaching daily courses to He Yujie and the others.
After they had a year of foundation, they really began to show their genius learning ability.
Now Li Qiwei only needs a little guidance on the general direction and some details, and the rest is completed by the three of them by themselves.
The three courses of physics, chemistry, and mathematics have been basically completed by the three of them, but there is still a long way to go before they can be fully integrated.
Li Qiwei estimated that by the end of this year, the three of them should be able to reach the level of ordinary college students in future generations.
It is nothing in later generations, but in 1902, he was definitely regarded as a proud man of heaven and a scientific elite.
Cambridge University has three graduation dates: January, June, and December.
Li Qiwei arranged for He Yujie and the others to graduate in December, so they needed to submit their thesis in July in advance and then prepare for the defense.
PhD graduates from Cambridge University are not subject to time constraints.
For undergraduates, although in theory, as long as the thesis is qualified and excellent, you can graduate early.
But without the consent of the dean and principal, it is basically impossible. An undergraduate cannot produce any "excellent" results.
Of course, except for monsters like Li Qiwei.
So he was very grateful to Sanders and Caldwell for agreeing to graduate early.
While he was planning graduation matters in his mind, he was supervising the chemistry test of three people.
Li San found him and took out a letter that looked high-grade.
"Master, this is something that was just sent by a person who claimed to be a British government employee."
"I was worried that it was expensive and urgent, so I sent it immediately."< br>
Li Qiwei nodded, opened it and found that it was stamped with the seal of the British Prime Minister.
Oops!
The background is not small.
He read the letter carefully, the content was very short, and he finished it quickly.
Li Qiwei smiled, as if a big stone had finally fallen to the ground in his heart.
Li San saw that he suddenly became happy and asked: "Master, what happy event is there to make you so happy?"
"Hahaha." Li Qiwei laughed loudly: "My The nomination for knighthood was approved.”
"From now on, you have to call me Lord Li."
"Wow!" Li San's thick voice reached everyone's ears instantly.
Wang Luyao came first and asked quickly what happened.
After Li San’s explanation, everyone knew that Li Qiwei was about to be knighted!
"Wow, brother Qiwei, you are so awesome." Wang Luyao's eyes were full of stars.
"Master, you are the most powerful." Xiang Lan may have made a pun.
"God, when I return to China after this, wouldn't it be true that even the county magistrates won't dare to take care of Brother Li?" He Yujie has been around his father since he was a child, and he is very familiar with the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty.
"When I go back and tell my parents the news, they will definitely be grateful for my choice." Xia Yuanzhen was very happy and felt that he had done the most right thing in his life.
"Brother Li, when are you going to attend the knighting ceremony? It will be very beautiful then. I really want to see it with my own eyes!" Xu Qitai said enviously.
Unexpectedly, Li Qiwei suddenly sneered, and then said with a smile: "Qitai, you are wrong, I will not attend the Lao Shizi ceremony."
Li Qiwei knew that to participate in the investiture ceremony, he had to kneel before the King of England and then be struck with a big sword.
How could he, a future time traveler, kneel down to others except his parents? That would be too cowardly.
And the other party is still a foreigner. Even if he is the king of the British Empire, he is nothing in Li Qiwei's eyes.
So, he had thought about it from the beginning and would not attend the knighthood ceremony.
When the time is over, someone will naturally send the certificates and honorary certificates for the lower-level knighthood.
As for whether Edward VII would be angry because of this, Ridgway was very self-aware.
In the recent wars in Britain, such as the Anglo-Boer War and the Anglo-Qing War, a large number of people have obtained military merits and need to be rewarded.
How could the lofty King of England remember a small figure in the field of science, even if he won the Nobel Prize?
"Oh." Xu Qitai said regretfully, he still wanted to see the world.
Li Qiwei teased him, "Qitai, since you want to go so much, why not go for me and see what the King of England looks like."
Xu Qitai smiled shyly and waved his hands quickly, causing everyone around him to laugh at him.
Li Qiwei knew that Xu Qitai's obsession was related to his childhood experience.
Xu Qitai’s father and grandfather have always wanted to be recognized by the Qing court as craftsmen throughout their lives and have the opportunity to erect monuments and legends.
As for being knighted, they didn't even dare to think about it, and they didn't even have such a plug-in in their heads. This is the tragedy of the traditional scientific and technological talents of the Qing Dynasty.
No matter how earth-shattering your talents and inventions are, they are not as good as a simple comment from a superior.
In the eyes of others, until death, it is just a tool, and it is the kind of tool that is honest, durable and does not complain.
Fortunately, Li Qiwei is here, and he wants to change the situation of scientists.
"Qitai, you have to remember that our achievements never need to be evaluated by outsiders, or even rewarded by them."
"In my eyes, the Nobel Prize in Physics A hundred times more important than a knighthood.”
"If it were not for the next Spark Project, I would not even accept the knighthood from the United Kingdom."
"This is the backbone and arrogance of our scientific talents!"
Xu Qitai, Xia Yuan Wei and He Yujie nodded heavily after hearing this.
Although he decided not to go, Li Qiwei still pretended to express his reasons sincerely, and his words were full of regret.
He is not stupid and stubborn, deliberately looking for trouble to appear noble.
Li Qiwei's principle of doing things is to be polite but not to lose face.
What Li Qiwei didn't know was that his knighthood was almost only a matter of Prime Minister Cecil's thoughts.
From the moment he received this letter, he was already involved in the conspiracy and became a pawn.
However, no one can predict the outcome until the last moment.
As long as the chess pieces are heavy enough, they can still overturn the chessboard and injure the players.
Li Qiwei thought he would start school as a knight soon, but unexpectedly, another happy event suddenly happened.
Just the day before school started, he received a letter from the Netherlands.
He had a guess in his mind, and when he opened it, it turned out that it was a letter from Gerald.
It reported in detail Philips' profits from tungsten filament light bulbs, and the results surprised Li Qiwei.
His personal patent dividend was as high as 8,742 pounds!
The company has paid the money into Ridgway's personal account at Standard Chartered Bank.
You know, this is only three months of dividends in 1901.
Gerald explained in the letter that sales of Philips' tungsten filament light bulbs have skyrocketed since Li Qiwei received the Nobel Prize.
Especially their high-end art series are loved by elites, with the greatest demand in the United States.
Li Qiwei couldn't laugh or cry. It seems that in the United States at this time, there are many upstarts rising, but they do not have the background of the British aristocracy.
Therefore, we can only buy some expensive things to decorate the appearance of high quality.
However, Gerrard stated in the letter that there are now several competitors in Europe alone.
They also developed the tungsten filament light bulb, perfectly avoiding Ridgway's patent.
General Motors in the United States is said to have begun to improve tungsten filament light bulbs.
He is worried that profits from tungsten filament light bulbs may decline next year.
But fortunately, the market is now big enough, and in the short term, each company will no longer fight to the death.
Li Qiwei was secretly shocked. It seemed that entrepreneurs of this era should not be underestimated, especially figures in history books like Edison.
But he is not worried. He will soon develop more powerful products, leaving the light bulb to them to compete.
So, he wrote to Gerald and told him to continue to expand the market and not to be nervous because other people would join.
I am designing new creative products, which will still be the world's leading technology.
Philips' science laboratory must be built as soon as possible, so that many of its ideas and designs can be tested as soon as possible.
A large amount of money was put into the account, and Li Qiwei then called Wang Luyao, Xia Yuanzhen, and Xu Qitai.
The Nobel Prize prize of 3,300 pounds was returned to three people respectively, and in the end there was only 300 pounds left.
Including dividends, he now has a total of 9,042 pounds.
It seems like a lot, but Li Qiwei still has to fulfill his promise.
First, donate all the Nobel Prize money to the University of Cambridge, which he had agreed with Caldwell before.
Second, donate 5,000 pounds to Trinity College. This was a little secret between him and Sanders at the graduation ceremony. In exchange, the three of them graduated early.
So, when school started, he only had 742 pounds left.
Fortunately, it can last for a while.
In general, 1902 was a good start and a double blessing, which made Li Qiwei very satisfied.
He is looking forward to a huge leap in his strength and power this year.
Initial realization of true freedom!
(End of this chapter)