Shadow of great britain

It was a slightly cold morning, and the sky was still covered with a layer of mist. The carriage that George Ohm was riding in slowly drove into the gate of Göttingen.

He leaned against the window of the carriage, staring at the outline of the university town gradually emerging in the morning light. The cobblestones on the street were slippery because of the light rain last night, and the wheels made a low creaking sound when they passed over.

The church spire in the distance was looming, and the silhouette of the bell tower became clear in the morning light.

Most of the buildings in Göttingen are made of simple stones and bricks. Everything here exudes a kind of academic solemnity and tranquility, as if every inch of land in this town is soaked in the breath of knowledge, which makes Ohm, who also grew up in the Bavarian university town of Erlangen, feel very close.

The carriage passed through the narrow streets and alleys, and some early-rising students could be seen on the roadside rushing to the lecture hall.

They were dressed in simple robes and carried heavy school bags on their shoulders. Judging from their expressions, most of them were obviously not fully awake.

Ohm's eyes swept over them, as if he saw the shadow of his youth.

He couldn't help but pursed his lips and smiled: "There must be a lot of people here who drank too late last night, so they are so listless."

Finally, the carriage stopped in front of a low-key stone building.

This is a small hotel, with a simple but elegant appearance.

A rusty copper plaque was hung in front of the door, with the name of the hotel written on it. The handwriting became a little blurred because of its age.

Ohm pushed open the door and leaned over slightly to walk out of the carriage. The fatigue of the long journey suddenly hit him at this moment, making him a little tired.

He stood in front of the hotel and looked up at the sky. The morning light on the horizon had gradually been replaced by clear sunshine, and the day in Göttingen officially began.

He took a deep breath, as if to inhale all the unique atmosphere of this town into his chest.

Everything here made him feel both strange and familiar, as if God was destined to let him start a new academic journey here.

Although the fatigue of the trip swept through his body, Ohm did not dare to slack off at all. He walked into the door of the hotel, checked in at the front desk, simply threw his luggage on the bed of the hotel, and then hurried out of the door and went straight to the famous German university that made him dream - University of Göttingen.

When promoting to the outside world, the University of Munich, the University of Heidelberg and the University of Jena often boasted that they were one of the top five universities in Germany, but the University of Berlin and the University of Göttingen, which are also among the top five universities, never use the top five universities to boast about themselves. They only say that they are the best universities in Germany.

In the eyes of Germans, is the University of Berlin better or the University of Göttingen better?

This is indeed a difficult problem.

But if the subjects are separated, the University of Göttingen, with Gauss and others in charge, is obviously better in the fields of natural sciences such as mathematics, while the University of Berlin, which is proud of Hegel and others, takes the lead in the fields of humanities and social sciences such as philosophy.

Of course, this does not mean that Göttingen is not good in humanities and social sciences, nor does it discredit the shortcomings of the University of Berlin in natural sciences. Because they are also the second best schools in humanities and social sciences and natural sciences in Germany, respectively, and their status in Germany is like Oxford and Cambridge in Britain.

Of course, this passage must not fall into the ears of a certain Royal Navy draftsman and the proctor of the University of Göttingen.

Because in their mouths, the status of the University of Göttingen in Germany is like that of the University of London in Britain, which is absolutely unique. The great Göttingen will never accept any comparison with a second-rate school like the University of Berlin.

This sentence does not exaggerate the arrogance of the two guys. After all, they were so arrogant long before they had a degree certificate. Today, when the University of London was awarded a teaching license, they even believe that church universities like Oxford and Cambridge should have been swept into the pile of old papers in history.

There is only one university that can bear the heavy responsibility of spreading the fire of civilization for the British people.

That's right, only one.

Because they don't even recognize King's College, which also adopts the new education method, and they think that the name of King's College is also inappropriate. It should be renamed "Oxford University Failure Students Repeat School" or "Cambridge University Underachievers Class" or something like that.

In their opinion, all the students who study at King's College are life losers. They come to King's College not because they like King's College, but simply because they can't go to Oxford and Cambridge.

But looking at the University of London, the students here are different.

The students here are loyal to the school. They come here because they believe in the ideals of the University of London.

Because of this, people who go to the University of London can have a happy and complete life. Graduating successfully from here means that your life is half successful.

However, although they said so, these two guys obviously forgot when they said these words: one of the outstanding representatives of their two University of London graduates was exiled to the Kingdom of Hanover as a thief. As for the other one, it was obviously worse. He was exiled 5,000 miles by the Admiralty and went directly to the sea of ​​South America.

But anyway, as long as they think their lives are happy, it's fine.

After all, they can still say that it's not that the environment in London is bad, nor that the girls in London are not pretty, but that the sunshine in Hanover and the dolphins in South America are more appealing to them.

I know some people must be laughing in their hearts when they see this.

But don't blame me for not warning you. Ridiculing the University of London at the University of Göttingen is a more serious crime than rioting.

Although this crime is not written into the campus management regulations, it is still an unspoken rule.

If you don't listen to the advice, don't blame the Gestapo for finding your doorstep the next day.

Of course, Ohm, who had just arrived in Göttingen, didn't know the dirtiest and most disgusting places at the University of Göttingen at this time.

He had a humble attitude of coming to the academic sanctuary to admire and learn.

Everything here made him feel close. He not only saw relaxed smiles on the campus of the University of Göttingen, but also saw students busy arranging display boards and promoting their ideas for running for the president of the student association in every corner of the campus.

On the simply built outdoor stage, the two presidential candidates were arguing over the different election platforms.

As for the students watching from the audience, some of them shouted slogans of freedom and democracy, while others insisted on maintaining the nation and tradition.

"Bismarck, you're a bastard!"

"I agree!"

"Why would Hastings allow this guy to run for president of the club? He can't even graduate normally, this is just nonsense!"

"Is a guy with lower academic performance qualified to lead the student union?"

"Humph! Why can't Bismarck run? In my opinion, you guys are just hypocritical. You say you want to fight for freedom, but you are excluding Bismarck. In the final analysis, you guys are no different from Metternich."

"How can you say that? I'm not against Bismarck running for election, I just think he is not capable of this position."

"Oh, then those with good academic performance can be president? If so If you say so, you shouldn't oppose Metternich. When he was studying in Göttingen, his grades were among the best. "

"I..."

"What? Did I poke a sore spot? Or do you plan to go to Vienna tonight to lick Metternich's hemorrhoids as Heine said?"

"That's enough. You guys are just making trouble!"

"You are making trouble! If you want to support Metternich, go ahead. I won't go along with you!"

"That's right. Those who oppose Bismarck's election are Metternich's lackeys! Good academic performance does not mean good moral character, nor does it mean that you are qualified to lead the student association in Göttingen."

Ohm saw the students quarreling and couldn't help showing a surprised expression.

Although he has not taught in school in recent years, he has heard about the amendment to the Carlsbad Resolution passed by the Confederation Parliament a while ago. Logically, all student associations in Germany should be banned from activities, but the hot election activities in Göttingen University have overturned his cognition.

If it were in Berlin or Munich, a student club activity of this scale would have attracted the police long ago.

However, the police in Göttingen not only did not take action against the students, but even the two policemen patrolling at the school gate listened with great interest. It seemed that they had no intention of returning to the police station to file a report.

Seeing this, Ohm couldn't help but reveal the same relaxed smile as the students: "Göttingen is worthy of being the best university in Germany. The free atmosphere here is not like a German university at all."

Ohm believed everything that happened in front of him. This was not because Ohm was a stupid person, but because he had not studied Scotland Yard's "Advanced Police Course".

The drafter Sir Arthur Hastings clearly pointed out in the course: the highest-level police often appear as opponents.

At the University of Göttingen, the highest-level police are students.

The two candidates on the stage, Bismarck, the designated leader of the Gestapo, naturally needless to say, even the guy standing on the opposite side of him was also recruited and won over.

Sir Arthur Hastings, the new academic supervisor of the University of Göttingen, is best at betting on both sides. Although he does not doubt Bismarck's ability, this does not mean that he will put all his chips on Bismarck.

While supporting Bismarck, Arthur also anticipated another possibility in advance.

He did not care what the election process was like in the middle, as long as the final result was highly consistent.

And it didn't matter who Bismarck and his opponent were fighting for the chairmanship, because they would eventually work for the lord.

It's just that the loser of the two will owe Arthur more favors, because Arthur plans to appoint the loser as the vice chairman of the Gestapo and issue him a school recommendation letter as usual.

Therefore, if the chairman is disobedient, Arthur can always promote the vice chairman, and judging by human nature, the vice chairman will most likely be more loyal and work harder than the chairman.

But in any case, these things are done under the table.

In the eyes of an outsider like Ohm, Göttingen was thriving, and there was a vibrant atmosphere of freedom everywhere.

This situation also made Ohm feel a little relieved.

"Sir Arthur Hastings is indeed an outstanding person with both moral character and talent."

He muttered to himself, strolling along the trail in the square.

He looked around nearby, but couldn't find a guy who looked like a professor.

Ohm held the papers he had published in his hands and looked at the sun rising above his head, feeling quite anxious waiting.

Suddenly, he saw the door of the conference hall not far away opening, and a group of scholars who looked to be in their forties or fifty years old walked out.

Ohm happily walked towards them, but as soon as he reached the professors, Ohm couldn't help but feel a little afraid, because he had been scolded by these guys over the years.

He hesitated for a long time, and then he found a kind-looking young man among the group of people: "Excuse me, do you know where Sir Arthur Hastings is?"

"Are you looking for the superintendent?" The young professor, who looked to be under 30 years old, looked at Ohm and said, "The superintendent is very busy. Do you have anything to do with him?"

"Ah... that..." Ohm's palms were all sweaty, and the paper in his hand was wet: "I... I am, have you heard of George Ohm?"

"George Ohm!"

The young professor exclaimed, attracting the attention of all the professors around him.

Some professors couldn't help but frown and asked: "Weber, can you not be so startled? You have scared away the birds in the forest."

Weber laughed and apologized to the professor: "Sorry, Mr. Ellman, I was too excited. Look who this is, George Ohm, weren't we talking about him just now?"

"Ohm?" Professor Elman glanced at Ohm, then shook his head and said to his colleagues: "Let's go back first, we have classes in the morning."

Seeing their reactions, Weber couldn't help curling his lips, then turned around and comforted: "Mr. Ohm, don't take it too seriously. You have to know that there are such old antiques in academia. Your monograph on Hastings Studies The supervisor showed it to me. Although the mathematical expressions and argumentation process were a bit messy, it was generally acceptable. "

"You...you believe me?" Ohm was originally prepared to be ridiculed, but unexpectedly, Weber's attitude towards him was so affectionate, which was far beyond his expectation.

Weber blinked at him: "Whether I believe you or not, I can't say yet, because I haven't tested it according to your experimental process. But, at least so far, I haven't seen any mistakes in the writing."

"I...I'm so grateful to you!"

Ohm excitedly held Weber's hand: "You can conduct experiments at any time, but if you don't go right at all, you can chop off my head with a sword, and I won't have any complaints."

"Oh... I'm not that rude." Weber replied with a smile: "And I don't know much about swordsmanship. That is the area where Superintendent Hastings specializes. Introduce yourself, William Weber, Göttingen Professor of physics at the university, and at the same time, I am also the assistant to Mr. Gauss, the director of the school’s observatory.”

As soon as Weber announced his name, Ohm was immediately stunned.

The name of Wilhelm Weber is well-known in the German electromagnetic research circle. This is a typical genius. He received his doctorate at the University of Halle at the age of 22 and was hired as a researcher at Halle the following year. A professor of physics at the university, and when Ohm was infamous for publishing "The Calculation of Electric Currents", the 27-year-old Weber was smoothly poached from the University of Halle to the University of Göttingen as a professor.

Standing in front of such a figure, the 44-year-old Ohm couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of himself.

"I……"

He wanted to say something polite but didn't know what to say.

After all, a figure like William Webb does not need compliments from an academic liar like him who has only been a middle school teacher.

Ohm hesitated to speak, but before he could open his mouth, he heard a helpless sigh coming from behind him.

"Mr. Gauss, I have also reported the matter of the geomagnetic monitoring station to the Ministry of Culture and Education. As for the matter that you and Weber want to set up a telegraph line at the observatory, I can allocate the funds to you immediately, but you asked me to guide you on how to pull the wire. , this is just..."

"Sir, you are completely perfunctory with me. I have clearly heard that you participated in the installation of Mr. Wheatstone's telegraph line."

"Yes, I participated, but that doesn't mean that I dragged the wire! Do you think this will work? I have a pretty good relationship with Mr. Wheatstone. How about taking advantage of the Göttingen next month? On the occasion of the European Electromagnetics Conference, I wrote a letter to Mr. Wheatstone and asked him to come with the scholars of the Royal Society. Then, I used my friendship as an excuse to detain him in Göttingen. , let him be responsible for guiding the construction of the telegraph line in Göttingen. What do you think of my suggestion? "

"Can you really persuade Mr. Wheatstone?"

"Of course, I have a very close relationship with Mr. Wheatstone. He has said personally that he is willing to go through fire and water for me."

As Arthur was talking, he suddenly saw Weber in front of him. He quickly found a reason to get away from Gauss: "Mr. Weber, do you need any help over there?"

Weber had a good impression of the new superintendent, who was also a young man. He glanced at Ohm beside him and replied with a smile: "What a coincidence. I really have something I need your help with."