Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 468: Upside-down Brothers
They actually used Meziriac's weight question to test a group of competitors? Who said that the third prince was an honest child!
This kid seems to need to be pushed. If not, he's too soft. Now that he's pushed, you see, he's really too cruel! Forget about solving this question in a short time during the interview. Most people would find it difficult to come up with an idea even if they think about it for several years!
Zhang Shou, who was sitting at the main seat, saw the other five people frowning and thinking hard. Then he saw the Third Prince holding his chest and taking a deep breath, clearly feeling relieved. He smiled and said, "Everyone outside can also think about it, especially the candidates who applied for the Jiuzhang Hall. If you can come up with the right ideas in a while, then I can promise that you can be admitted without taking the exam."
The crowd outside was originally whispering, but when this was said, they were immediately shocked. Someone just said that such an easy question was not easy to solve, and then he was scolded: "What do you know? If it was really so easy to solve, why would Dr. Zhang give such a lenient condition that as long as you can answer it, you can be admitted without taking the test?"
Before the person who was complaining about how easy it was to solve could retort, Zhang Shou's voice could be heard from the Jiuzhang Hall again: "Third Prince, can you answer the question you asked?"
The third prince immediately smiled widely: "Of course!"
The fourth prince, who was originally sweating for his brother, could not help but show his joy at this moment. Of course, he remembered this question. It was Zhang Shou who jokingly asked the students when they were still in Banshan Hall. He was very interested at first, but after thinking about it for a few days and still not getting the point, he decisively gave up. Unexpectedly, the third prince persisted in thinking about it for a long time.
As for how long this long time was… Haha, he remembered that the Third Prince had been trying to solve this problem with a stupid method for a month or two, and he was almost obsessed with it. As a result, after Zhang Shou left the capital for Cangzhou, the Third Prince finally couldn't help it, and first asked Lu Sanlang. The two of them pondered for several days, and finally asked Ge Yong for advice. The teacher and his two disciples finally got the answer.
Therefore, his third brother will never forget these four numbers. God knows how much paper the third prince wasted in those days. Even when there was a change of teacher in the palace, he was distracted by this. He was always listless and absent-minded in class, and even caused others to run to the emperor to complain that he was tired of studying!
Seeing that everyone inside and outside the Jiuzhang Hall was thinking hard, Lu Sanlang finally smiled. It seemed that he had really worried for nothing. Things would work out when the time came. At the critical moment, the Third Prince was still very smart. He actually knew how to use this question to make things difficult for others!
Sure enough, even though Zhang Shou had already relaxed the criterion for solving the problem from the answer to the correct idea, this seemingly simple question was still like a chasm, stumping everyone inside and outside. Seeing that a long time had passed, Zhang Shou suddenly asked, "How is it, do you have any ideas?"
Just now, they thought that the Third Prince was just a son of a dragon and a grandson of a phoenix, but now he was stumped. The other five people in the first group had different expressions. Finally, someone suddenly said unconvincedly: "This question is just complicated. As long as you exhaust the examples..."
"It's possible to exhaustively enumerate, but do you know how many combinations of four numbers from one to forty can there be?" Zhang Shou asked this question with a smile. Seeing that everyone was dumbfounded and couldn't answer, he slowly said, "The answer is 91,390. Even if we can really come up with more than 90,000 combinations and then conduct experiments to sum them up one by one, how long do you think it will take?"
If Weinan Earl Zhang Kang was here, he would definitely think of the cheating text lock. He had also thought of the dumbest way, but it took years to get any results. When Zhang Shou started to do experiments according to certain rules, although he mobilized the entire Jiuzhang Hall, he was able to solve the problem in a few days, which was incredibly fast.
At this time , when the outsiders heard Zhang Shou's number 91,390, there was an uproar. Among the students of Yue Shanzhang, Fang Qing, who had almost gotten himself into trouble by talking impulsively on the street, wanted to question the number without any basis, but seeing that many candidates from other groups were lost in thought, he was afraid of being embarrassed, so after thinking about it, he finally kept silent.
However, Zhang Shou in Jiuzhang Hall did not explain the question in public, but ordered others to come up with questions. With the best demonstration by the Third Prince, the five people naturally racked their brains and came up with questions that they had solved with great difficulty or had no solution, trying to defeat their competitors. However, as questions were thrown out one by one, the people outside could not help but feel complicated.
Because among the next five questions, the third prince actually came up with solutions to two of them, and was affirmed by Zhang Shou as having good ideas. As for the other five, only one figured out two of them, and the rest were completely wiped out!
At this moment, Fang Qing, the student from Zhaoming Academy who had remained silent just now, could not help but laugh and said, "So this so-called group interview is just to highlight the Third Prince's extraordinary talent at such a young age?"
Seeing that many people around him were looking at him, Fang Qing tried his best to stay calm. But even though he had experienced this feeling of being the target of public criticism once before in the alley near Xinglong Tea House, the situation this time was completely different.
Because at that time, it was just a group of common people who refuted him, but now it was not easy to bear the stares of a group of scholars. Especially when he saw the deep and cold eyes of his teacher Yue Shanzhang looking at him, he felt even more like a thorn in his side. Just as his heart was beating more and more, he heard Zhang Shou speaking again.
"Lu Sanlang, give the papers you prepared to the four people in the first group who didn't answer the questions."
Seeing that Lu Sanlang was about to hand out the papers, Zhang Shou said with a half-smile, "These are the exam questions your future senior brother has given you. Of course, there are many questions, a total of twenty questions, but as long as you can choose three of them and answer them correctly, they will be counted towards today's score. Now, go down first."
Seeing that the four people were dejected at first, and then became overjoyed when they heard that they had another chance, Zhang Shou ignored the third prince and the other one who were a little suspicious, and called the second group to come in. This time, there were eight people standing in front of him.
"It's still the same rules as before. The eight of you will take turns asking each other questions, still in order of age. Third Prince, you, the youngest, will ask the questions."
"Ah?" The Third Prince cried out softly, but his face no longer had the initial panic, but a bit more excitement. He stole a glance at the seven people who were at least seven or eight years older than him, and then coughed and said honestly, "There is a farmer who raises a group of roosters and hens, some white, some black, some mottled, and some yellow. Among them, the number of white roosters is more than the yellow roosters, and the extra number is half of the number of black roosters plus one third..."
If Zhang Shou had just felt that the Third Prince was very cruel... then, at this moment, he felt that this little fellow, who always seemed more docile and kind than the Fourth Prince, was extremely cruel!
Replacing Archimedes' problem of dividing a cow with that of dividing a chicken? This kid definitely remembers that he said in class that although there is a solution to this problem, the number is already sky-high!
Although Archimedes' problem of dividing the cow is said to have enriched the study of number theory, according to later research, Archimedes himself never calculated the result at all. This is just like the problem of placing rice grains on the chessboard, which is really deceptive!
Sure enough, if the third prince's first question was just a seemingly simple question, then this extremely complicated question finally succeeded in confusing most people inside and outside.
Although Fang Qing, who had just questioned the Third Prince, had turned pale because he found the problem difficult to solve, he still muttered to himself, trying to insist that his judgment was not wrong. However, when Zhang Shou instructed the other seven people not to think any more and just asked the questions directly, he finally changed color when he found that the Third Prince actually gave an interesting idea in one of the seven questions.
Perhaps Zhang Shou could arrange the third prince to be in a group with some specially designed candidates when drawing lots, but this second group was not so easy to break through, because three of them got zero points, and the other three each gave an idea for a problem... One of them only barely touched the edge, so Zhang Shou said that he would keep that person out of encouragement.
As for the other candidate who remained from the first group, although he failed to answer the questions in this round, he survived because he answered the questions in the previous round.
And when it came to the third group, the fourth group... the seventh group, the Third Prince's strange questions always made people inside and outside the Jiuzhang Hall doubt their lives, but he himself was able to gain something in every interview. The only time he got a zero, at least he was able to give a wrong but interesting idea. Fang Qing, who gradually realized his overly conspiracy theory, finally looked dejected.
Not to mention the onlookers outside who were marveling at his brother's bravery today, even the Fourth Prince found it hard to believe.
For them, it was not difficult to set questions once they figured it out. After all, they had studied with Zhang Shou for such a long time, and sometimes even received private tutoring. So Zhang Shou would come up with many difficult questions to tease them. As long as they could remember to use these questions to embarrass others at the critical moment, it would be fine.
But answering the questions is not easy! The fourth prince thought to himself that if it were him, he would not be able to come up with ideas for some of the questions asked by the interviewers in the group in such a short time.
"Could it be that Third Brother is a genius? Did he hide his abilities in the past just to impress me?" The Fourth Prince muttered to himself, and his competitive spirit immediately broke out.
He had been bold and reckless since he was young, so although he was the younger brother, he was actually the protector of the two brothers. Most of the time, he was in front to protect his older brother, the Third Prince. Moreover, whether it was reading, writing, or arithmetic, he was better than the Third Prince. Now he found that his brother seemed to have been giving in to him all the time, how could he tolerate it?
He doesn't want to be defeated by anyone!
Therefore, when the eighth group was called into the Jiuzhang Hall by Zhang Shou, the Fourth Prince glanced at the dozen or so people who had answered at least one question correctly in the previous five rounds of interviews and thus remained. He especially stared at the Third Prince for a long time before he said loudly, "I am definitely the youngest among so many people. I should be the one to set the questions this time!"
When Zhang Shou saw the imposing look of the Fourth Prince, he knew that the Third Prince's performance just now might have stimulated this younger brother. He was happy to see such a change, and immediately nodded with a smile and said, "Okay, you ask the questions!"
"Today I carry a pot of wine and walk in the suburbs in spring. When I meet friends, I drink twice as much. When I go to a store, I drink half a bucket. I meet three stores and drink all the wine in the pot. I want to ask the wise man: how do you know the original amount?"
Zhang Shou was slightly surprised to hear that the Fourth Prince had asked such a question. Bringing this question here to embarrass people, it seems a little...too simple, right?
Sure enough, when he was thinking this, a moment later, someone immediately claimed that he had the answer, not just an idea, and one was followed by another, and the joyful shouts were one after another.
Moreover, he could see that all those who answered the questions were relieved because of the Fourth Prince's question, which was obviously easier to answer. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel that the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince seemed to have completely reversed their personalities.
It stands to reason that the Third Prince, who is usually honest and weak, asks easy questions, while the Fourth Prince comes up with difficult questions to trip people up. This is normal!
However, when he saw the Third Prince also looking at his younger brother the Fourth Prince in confusion, but the Fourth Prince did not look away, as if he did not care at all that a question did not stump him, Zhang Shou understood the meaning. There was no doubt that the Fourth Prince did not want to use the difficult questions he had told them to compete with his brother in an open and square manner.
But this little fool really took it for granted! Didn't he think that when everyone else got one point and he got zero points, he was already behind? This is the eighth group. When I was outside before, I had fully observed the problems of others in front of me. Do you think others will leave you room to compete with your brother? Zhang Shou couldn't help but sigh secretly, and he was not optimistic about the fourth prince.
Sure enough, including the rest of the eighth group, the questions they asked were more tricky than the last, and they really didn't want anyone to answer them. The Third Prince hesitated for a moment and also asked a difficult question. Even though the Fourth Prince racked his brains, he could only give up unwillingly every time. Lu Sanlang, who was recording these questions, couldn't help but secretly smack his lips, thinking that these junior brothers were really ruthless.
The ability to embarrass others, and the knowledge he possesses about difficult questions, hehe...even he can only answer a few!
When it was the last person's turn, it was Ji Jiu. In terms of age, he was not the oldest among the six people, but since others were scrambling to get ahead, he simply stayed behind to hold the line. He had already answered the question of the Fourth Prince, and thought that he had at least secured a chance to enter the Jiuzhang Hall. Seeing the Fourth Prince's face as dark as a pot-bottomed helmet, he had a plan in mind.
Since the Fourth Prince has already come up with a simple one, no one will blame him if he comes up with another simple one!
