Secret of the Assassin

Li Qiwei stayed in Switzerland for a few more days, during which he had extensive academic discussions with Einstein and Grossman. Finally, under their reluctant gazes, he resolutely boarded the train back.

This time, Li Qiwei and his two companions would first take a train to Paris, then transfer there to head back to London, and finally return to Cambridge.

When passing through Paris, Li Qiwei had considered visiting a few famous figures.

At this time, France had many renowned physicists, such as the Curies, Paul Langevin, Henri Becquerel, and Jean Perrin.

Each of them would later become a Nobel laureate in Physics.

However, Li Qiwei thought again. This trip would be too much of a hassle, and bringing Hong'er, a young girl, along made it inconvenient.

Moreover, the assassin encountered in Berlin had not yet been identified. For safety reasons, it was better to keep a low profile.

Therefore, he canceled his plan and chose to return directly.

After several more days of bumpy travel, by the time Li Qiwei and his two companions returned to their residence in Cambridgeshire, it was already mid-August, with only about ten days left until the start of the semester.

Li Qiwei slept for three consecutive days at home to recover his energy and spirit.

In an era without airplanes or high-speed rail, traveling far away was simply torture. A two-month vacation wasn't even enough to travel from London to Shanghai.

One morning, after waking up, Li Qiwei was working on the textbook for the Spark Plan when suddenly, Li San rushed in.

"Young Master, there's a telegram from the family! Quickly check if there's any news about the assassin."

Li Qiwei was startled and quickly stood up to take the telegram, reading it carefully.

It turned out that while they were in Switzerland, Li Qiwei had sent a message to his family through a local telegraph company.

He wanted to find out when he had offended an assassin from China. He also inquired about the progress of scouting personnel for the Spark Plan.

Finally, he requested that the family not be stingy with expenses and reply via telegram, leaving his Cambridge address.

So, since their return, Li Qiwei had instructed Li San to go to the post office every day, waiting to retrieve any incoming telegrams immediately.

At this time, wired telegraph services in Europe were already quite mature.

Cambridge University was a world-renowned institution, so the Britain Post Office had established telegraph services there.

Amidst Li San's anxious waiting, Li Qiwei finally finished reading the telegram and understood the whole situation.

Combining his own suspicions, he explained the entire sequence of events to Li San.

It turned out that this year, on June 21st, Guangxu 26th, due to the "Boxer Rebellion," the Qing court's "old hag" Empress Dowager Cixi had directly declared war on eleven nations simultaneously.

To protect China's vitality, powerful provincial governors led by Li Hongzhang convened to discuss how to maintain stability in the southeastern provinces, known as the Southeast Mutual Protection.

Li Hongzhang even directly telegraphed the court: "This is a rebellious order, Guangdong will not obey."

This telegram encouraged the governors of the southeastern provinces. Zhang Zhidong, the Governor-General of Huguang, subsequently proposed the "Li Hongzhang Presidential Plan": if Beijing fell, they would jointly elect Li Hongzhang to serve as China's "President" to preside over the situation.

This move undoubtedly angered the Qing court, and even more so, Empress Dowager Cixi.

Many Manchu nobles clamored, believing that the Han people were rebelling and needed to be taught a lesson.

It could be said that the Southeast Mutual Protection had effectively undermined the Qing Dynasty's rule, and from then on, the political structure of Manchu-Han unity began to crumble.

The Li family, to which Li Qiwei belonged, as a prominent Han family in Guangzhou, was a staunch supporter of the Southeast Mutual Protection policy.

Li Qiwei's father had even met Li Hongzhang. Therefore, the Li family naturally became a target for those with ulterior motives.

Although the high and mighty Empress Dowager Cixi, along with the Manchu princes and ministers, wouldn't care about a small family like the Lis, their subordinates might.

After all, everyone wanted to climb the ladder.

The main branch of the Li family resided within Guangzhou, where Han influence was strong, so the hidden hands lurking in the shadows could not find an opportunity.

However, one of the young masters of the Li family was studying abroad in Britain.

This provided an opportunity for Luo Fuyu, the Qing Dynasty's envoy to Britain and imperial commissioner.

Luo Fuyu was a confidant of Prince Qing, and it was through his strong recommendation that he obtained such a favorable post.

And what kind of person Prince Qing was, needed no further explanation: greedy, lustful, and ruthless.

At this moment, as a minister in the Grand Council of the Qing Dynasty, he held significant power. He amassed wealth while simultaneously suppressing the Han people.

Therefore, Luo Fuyu tried every means to please Prince Qing, whether by offering wealth or by carrying out tasks, hoping to ascend higher.

After all, having connections in court made it easier to advance in one's career.

So, when Luo Fuyu learned that Li Qiwei was a young master of the Li family, he was ecstatic.

He quickly dispatched his subordinate Feng Jin to investigate. The investigation revealed that this Li Qiwei was an exceptionally intelligent individual.

Although Luo Fuyu didn't understand what Quantum was, seeing so many foreign scholars hold him in high regard, he knew that this person was no ordinary individual. He suspected that Li Qiwei was studying some cunning crafts and techniques, intending to subvert the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, Luo Fuyu developed a murderous intent. Such a person would eventually be a scourge to the Qing Dynasty.

However, despite being the ambassador to Britain, he had no military power, only a few personal guards he brought from home.

And Feng Jin was the leader of these guards.

Thus, he ordered Feng Jin to constantly monitor Li Qiwei and seize any opportunity for a swift kill.

But he stressed that it must not be discovered, and under no circumstances should foreigners be able to trace the matter back to him.

Otherwise, it would be a huge diplomatic incident.

In this era, people from the Qing Dynasty would instinctively feel inferior when encountering foreigners, even officials were no exception.

Against this backdrop, Feng Jin, with a subordinate, planned the assassination in Berlin.

Hearing this, Li San finally understood what was going on.

He was so enraged he gritted his teeth, even preparing to grab a spear right then and there to finish that scoundrel.

However, Li Qiwei stopped him.

"Third Brother, no need to rush. Now that we know the enemy's background, there's no need to be afraid."

"We're in Britain now. Even if Luo Fuyu had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare assassinate me."

"Besides, he's overseas and alone. He can't have many men under him. We have handguns, so we have nothing to fear."

"Hmph, the more he tries to assassinate me, the bigger the stir I'll make. Let's see what he does."

So, Li Qiwei called Hong'er over and instructed them both.

When Hong'er learned the truth, the stone in her heart finally settled.

Their residence was in an important academic center in Britain, with excellent security policies, so there was no need to worry about Luo Fuyu's group.

Moreover, with Li San present, their safety was further assured.

Although Hong'er often bickered with him, she was well aware of his capabilities.

Subsequently, Li Qiwei sent Li San and Hong'er to attend to their respective tasks. He then turned his attention to another matter in the letter.

Li Qiwei's father wrote that he didn't know what kind of reputation Li Qiwei had made in Britain. Recently, several young men had wanted to visit him, inquiring about the physicist Li Qiwei.

His father had used the excuse of not knowing for the time being, and also wanted to ask Li Qiwei what was going on.

After reading it, Li Qiwei smiled faintly. It seemed his fame had already reached China.

However, anyone who could find him at this time must be from wealthy families, otherwise they wouldn't have access to this information.

This was good. For these people, going abroad wasn't a terrifying prospect, which would be very beneficial for the Spark Plan's implementation.

Thus, Li Qiwei began to write a letter, telling his father how to proceed and to await his notification.

He decided to convey this matter through a letter, not a telegram, because telegrams were too expensive, and even the esteemed young master Li didn't dare to send them frequently.

He was saving his money for bigger things.

(Note: In actual history, the ambassador to Britain was Luo Fenglu. For plot purposes, the author has made some adjustments, consider it a butterfly effect.)