Chapter Twenty-Two: The Scientist

  Looking at the soldiers training outside, Xu Shou's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes showed a deep concern.

  "Dad!"

  Seeing his second son, Xu Jianyin, walking over, the old man's face couldn't help but reveal a satisfied expression. His son's achievements in invention and creation were in no way inferior to his own, and he was especially skilled at shipbuilding and mechanics, making him an invaluable talent. If nothing unexpected happened, it was likely that father and son would work together for the rest of their lives! But all of this changed on that night six days ago!

  That day, Xu Shou finished a day's work at Jiangnan Machine Bureau and returned home. After having dinner with his family and going to bed, he woke up the next day to find himself already on the sea. Although his family was all there, the unpredictable future made him very worried. He was already in his 70s and didn't have much time left to live, but his children and grandchildren were still young and vigorous!

  Until I arrived at this obvious military camp, I met my good friends Hua Xiangfang and Li Shanlan. The friendship of many years made the originally nervous mood slightly calm!

  Moreover, in the books written with strange characters here, there are many unheard-of Western technologies that strongly interest him and make him involuntarily immerse himself. However, those black-haired yellow-skinned elite soldiers speaking Chinese outside made his heart's worries even stronger.

  "Father, are you still worried about those soldiers outside?" Xu Jianyin asked.

  "Yes, Zhong Hu! These soldiers train like this every day, they have far surpassed the best soldiers of the Qing dynasty, Xiang Army and Huai Army by a large margin. And look, they all cut off their queues, which is a capital offense in the Qing dynasty! From this, it can be seen that these people must have a major conspiracy to rebel against the imperial court!" Xu Shou said with a worried face.

  "Snow Village, you're right! Both of us are well-versed in Western machinery, and Zhong Hu is particularly knowledgeable about firearms. We can see that the rifles in these soldiers' hands far surpass those of the West, let alone the Qing Dynasty! I wonder who developed such excellent military equipment. Looking at these people, although they don't have queues, they are undoubtedly Chinese. But I've lived for so many years, how come I've never heard of such a talented person in our great Qing Dynasty who is well-versed in Western learning?" Hua Xiangfang slowly walked to the back of the two and said with a worried expression, looking out the window.

  "Everything here is shrouded in mystery, it's really puzzling for an old man like me!" Li Shanlan also walked over and said.

  "Judging from the scale of this place, there should be around 40,000 to 50,000 people. Moreover, this book 'Zhonghua Lun' openly advocates for the overthrow of the imperial court. A place that opposes the Qing dynasty like this should be very famous, how come we hadn't heard anything about it before?"

  "That's the Aixinjueluo family's Qing dynasty, it's already on its last breath and can't be saved!" Just as Xu Shou's voice fell, a young voice came from outside the door.

  "Who?"

  "Hehe, I've met Mr. Xuecun, Mr. Jiangfang, Mr. Ruotin and Mr. Zhonghu!" Hosan said with a smile as he pushed open the door and walked in.

  "Are you that 'young master' they were talking about?" Xu Shou asked with some hesitation, looking at the boy who was probably only twelve or thirteen years old.

  "Not bad! I believe you have all read those works of mine too!"

  "You have such talent at a young age, why not think of serving the imperial court and strengthening the country? Instead, you're doing rebellious things!" Li Shanlan said with an angry face.

  "Are you referring to that Tartar court? What a joke! As a proud Han Chinese, a descendant of the Yan and Huang Emperors, why should I wear a pigtail on my back and kneel down to a foreign tribe? Moreover, it's a court that has lost its power and dignity, lost its masters and territory!" Huo Shan mocked with intense language.

  "How can you say such outrageous and unprincipled things!" Hua Xiangfang pointed at Huo Shan, her anger causing her to tremble.

  "Haha, saying these words is still light, it won't be long before you all see how I will overthrow that corrupt dynasty and sit on the throne of the Forbidden City!"

  "You won't succeed, the Qing Dynasty still has more than a million troops, and there are also the brave Xiang Army and Huai Army!" These scholars who have lived in the Qing Dynasty all their lives have adapted to the rule of the Qing Dynasty and will not easily bow their heads.

  "Mr. Zhong Hu, what you said is not wrong, but how many of these troops can actually fight? Is it the corrupt officers who embezzle and take bribes; or the soldiers who smoke opium and visit brothels, only knowing how to bully civilians? Mr. Zhong Hu, do you expect these troops to defeat the elite troops in front of us, who train every day and are equipped with weapons that are no worse than those of Westerners, and even better?"

  "Young man, the imperial court is actively learning Western technology, manufacturing guns and cannons, revitalizing the country. I'm afraid it's not just a matter of defeating these troops in front of you!"

  "Mr. Jing Fang, you are all familiar with Western learning and have served under the various foreign affairs ministers, I believe you know what kind of factories they run! I think Li Hongzhang and others are more interested in vying for power and profit when it comes to foreign affairs!"

  Recalling the current dynasty's ills, as one of the four outstanding talents of the time, they naturally understood! The wind of corruption and bribery had long swept into various government-run factories, with all kinds of illegal activities such as shoddy workmanship and passing off inferior goods as superior ones rampant in the factories, leaving these people who had struggled for the country's rise for a lifetime somewhat disheartened.

  Looking at their silent appearance, it's clear they've been convinced by Hoshan!

  "I believe you gentlemen have all read that book, 'On China'! The Western powers' intention to destroy us has not died, but the current imperial court only knows internal strife and does not know how to build a country. I invited the four of you with great effort, just to get you out of that fire pit, using your rich scientific knowledge to teach and educate people, and cultivate talent for China!" Huo Shan said sincerely. Originally, he wanted to put these people into the newly established research department, but looking at their fiercely opposing attitude just now, it was clear that they couldn't turn around in a short time, so Huo Shan compromised and let them all go teach, which would make them more acceptable, and when they changed their attitude later, everything would fall into place!

  "We won't betray the imperial court, you don't have to waste your breath!" Li Shanlan said with an unfriendly face.

  "Hehe, gentlemen don't need to rush to answer me, you can carefully consider it and see if what I just said makes sense!"

  "What's wrong?"

  "Master?" The well-dressed man standing beside him replied.

  "Normally in the military camp, don't restrict the actions of these four gentlemen!" Huo Shan ordered with a smile.

  "Yes, young master!"

  "That's all I have to say! If any of you gentlemen change your minds, just let the soldiers here know and they'll inform me!"

  Looking out of the window at the receding back of Huo Shan, Li Shanlan said with a sigh: "The four of us are almost three hundred years old together, I didn't expect that we can't even surpass a young man, it's really shameful!"

  Thinking of what Hoshan said just now, the four people's faces were all deep in thought, and the spacious room fell silent for a while.

  "Young master, I don't understand why you're being so polite to those old guys?" Huo Shi said with a scowl.

  "Can't figure it out?" Huo Shan asked with a smile as he looked at his face.

  "Yes!"

  Looking at the distant blue sky, Huo Shan said with a somewhat melancholy expression: "Huo Shi, a country's prosperity requires not only elite soldiers but also top talents from all walks of life. Only by combining them organically can we become a truly powerful nation. The Qing dynasty has been closed off for hundreds of years, and the scholar-official class that represents the country's high-level talent has long lost the pursuit of science and technology during the Han and Tang dynasties. They are all just burying their heads in the sand, deceiving themselves! Every day they talk about etiquette and propriety to foreigners, making China lose face and territory! We've lost the dignity of our Han people!"

  "In the two Opium Wars, we were defeated by others' cannons and guns! What does this show? It shows that our country has fallen far behind in science and technology. If we don't catch up quickly, we will continue to be bullied by foreigners! However, the development of science and technology requires a large number of high-level scientific talents, but our country is seriously lacking in this regard, far inferior to Western countries that have gone through the First Industrial Revolution and achieved great success in education. Therefore, every qualified worker and scientist among our own people is our treasure. Xu Shou, Xu Jianyin, Hua Xuefang, and Li Shanlan are all leading figures in this regard, and their value cannot be measured by money! If they are willing to use their talents for our ideals, I am willing to kneel down and kowtow to them, even if they treat me poorly!"

  Listening to the young master's words, Huo Shi's heart was deeply moved. Before, he had been training his troops with great difficulty, mainly out of loyalty to the Huo family. Now, he had a higher and more noble purpose - to fight for the rise of the nation!

  At this moment, Huo Shan's not-so-tall figure became incredibly great in his heart!