Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 469 Equation
"One hundred buns for one hundred monks. Three senior monks will not fight over one bun. Three junior monks will share one bun. How many buns should each senior monk and junior monk have?"
As soon as Ji Jiu asked this question, the huge Jiuzhang Hall fell silent. However, the noise outside the Jiuzhang Hall was a little louder. People who didn't know much about mathematics couldn't help but ask the people around them who seemed to have some knowledge of mathematics. And those who knew a little about mathematics were wondering if they had heard it wrong.
Although this problem is not so simple that it can be solved easily, it is too easy compared to the previous questions that made people doubt their lives - just as easy as the question posed by the Fourth Prince!
Sure enough, in an instant, everyone in the Jiuzhang Hall was scrambling to answer, and the voices rose and fell, and everyone was afraid that they would fall behind. Because everyone knew that in the previous competition, such a simple question only appeared once, and they didn't expect that all of them fell on the heads of the eighth group.
Zhang Shou didn't wait for anyone to give an answer, and he patted the armrest. He found that the dozen people had finally quieted down. Ji Jiu, the instigator, looked a little panicked, as if he didn't expect such a result, while the Fourth Prince looked a little angry. He said calmly: "Please use the two-variable linear equation in Ge's Mathematical Classic to solve this problem."
"Lu Sanlang, give them white paper and pens, and ask them to write equations one by one and then solve them. Go out and inform the others to write equations to solve this problem. This question is an additional question."
As soon as these words came out, the Jiuzhang Hall, which had just been lively, suddenly fell silent again. Not long after, a middle-aged candidate from Group 8 who had just come in with Ji Jiu and the Fourth Prince shouted indignantly: "I have already solved this problem mentally, why do I have to write an equation?"
"This problem itself is not difficult. If you know the trick, you can solve it easily. The reason why I asked you to write the equation is because the standard textbook used by Jiuzhang Hall in the future is "Ge's New Edition of Mathematics". After this book was printed, it has been circulated in the capital for a long time. Those who are interested in Jiuzhang Hall should at least not miss this book, let alone the equation chapter in it."
"What's more, because of the teacher's request, the bookstore that sells this book has set up a special place for people to copy it, so not being able to afford it is not an excuse, because people who can't afford it can at least copy the book for study. If you apply for Jiuzhangtang, but you have never understood and comprehended the most basic equation chapter in Ge's New Compilation of Mathematics, or even have no concept of it, then it's really unreasonable."
The middle-aged candidate who had just spoken turned pale and blushed, and then protested unconvincedly: "Grandmaster Ge's New Edition of Mathematics is very famous, but it is completely different from the previous Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art and Zhoubi Mathematical Classic. Even those who study mathematics may not be able to read it! Since we are in the Nine Chapters Hall, of course we should study the long-standing Mathematical Classics!"
Faced with such doubts, Zhang Shou was not angry at all. He glanced at those who took the paper and pen, as well as the wooden board used as a base, from Lu Sanlang and immediately began to write quickly. Then he smiled at the middle-aged candidate.
"I have told many people that modern people are better than ancient people, because modern people's lives must be richer than those of ancient people. The same is true for mathematics. The mathematical classics of our ancestors are indeed very good and explain many truths, but there is a wider world outside these mathematical classics! You just said that "Ge's New Mathematics" is very famous, but it is not a required course. Then look at the other people around you."
The middle-aged candidate glanced around and saw that most of the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince and others had already finished solving the question. Some of them were calm and composed, while others looked at him with strange eyes. He suddenly felt a pang in his heart.
After a while, Lu Sanlang came in from outside and said with a smile: "The seven groups of candidates outside are very grateful to the teacher for adding this question. In addition, it is undoubtedly a free point question because it only requires an equation to be solved. In the time I have been around, a lot of people have already written equations and figured it out."
At this point, the middle-aged candidate's face was filled with more than just confusion, but genuine shock and anger.
He took a step back and shouted, "How is this possible! Although I haven't read Ge's New Compilation of Mathematics, I have heard that equations are derived from Tianyuanshu! I also know a little about Tianyuanshu, how is it possible to list them so quickly!"
“Tianyuanshu may be difficult, but it is very simple to write equations. This is why modern people are better at mathematics than ancient people!” Zhang Shou smiled slightly, thinking that Jiuzhangtang has never faded from the sight of people in the capital over the past year. In addition, the Jiuzhangtang students are like the source of information, which has led many people who failed in reading the books of sages and hope to find another way.
Just from the sales volume of Ge's New Mathematics reported by Lu Sanlang, he could roughly calculate how many people were exposed to such a progressive mathematical system. Therefore, he was not surprised when Lu Sanlang said that a lot of people outside could write equations as easily as eating and drinking. Because for those who are really talented, as long as they can accept equations, then getting started is simply too easy.
He stood up and said calmly: "Most people who are interested in mathematics will be eager to make progress. When they encounter new theories related to mathematics, they will spend time thinking about them instead of sticking to the old ways. Some people even now keep saying that Tianyuanshu is too difficult."
"What I'm asking for is not a solution, but the mind and ability to accept new knowledge! Okay, Lu Sanlang, give the rest of the people here a copy of the test papers written by your classmates. Then call everyone outside in, sit down in this Jiuzhang Hall, and finish the papers in your hands."
"I know that people inside and outside have different time, but I won't allocate time for them. After all, drawing lots is a kind of luck, and luck is also a kind of assessment. The time limit for this paper is three quarters of an hour. You only need to answer three questions. You only need ideas, not answers."
The middle-aged candidate gradually turned pale, but when he heard Zhang Shou's last words, he seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw and came back to his senses. However, when he got the paper, his eyes gradually widened and he trembled with anger. Because almost every question on the paper had specific requirements from beginning to end.
Write equations, write equations…and write equations again!
Zhang Shou knew without even looking what the expression on the face of the guy who just yelled that Tian Yuan Shu was difficult was. Of course, he understood the habits that the first batch of students of Jiu Zhang Tang had developed better than anyone else.
In fact, people who have seen how simple equations are are not willing to think of other solutions, because many of the problems specifically listed in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art can be solved by simply writing an equation.
As for solving the equation... for people with strong computing ability, it would probably only take a breath.
This is just like learning calculus in later generations. Many of the problems that you had been thinking about in high school can be easily answered. Therefore, many college students who have learned advanced mathematics and university physics often habitually use calculus to solve problems when they go back to tutor high school students in science... No matter who you are, why bother to think about complicated solutions when there are simple solutions?
So there was no need for him to hint. After learning "New Edition of Ge's Mathematics" and finding equations very useful, the students did not hesitate to limit the solutions to equations when making questions.
Firstly, equations are an important knowledge point in the second volume of Ge's New Edition of Mathematics... Secondly, they have been tortured by all kinds of weird equation problems, and they hope that their future juniors will also have a baptism.
However, the Fourth Prince didn't care about the unlucky guy who was feeling sad and angry. He only knew that he wanted to challenge his problem-solving ability before, but if it weren't for Ji Jiu's overly simple question, he might have been eliminated directly.
So, at this moment, he put all his heart and soul into the test paper, desperately hoping that he could solve more questions than the three questions Zhang Shou had specified. However, he soon encountered a setback, because formulating equations for word problems... he was not good at it!
Seeing that the Fourth Prince's face was wrinkled into a ball and he even wanted to bite the pen, Zhang Shou couldn't help but smile. The interview questions just now were asked by the candidates. Except for the cruel Third Prince, who used a few extremely difficult questions he had asked as a joke to sweep away a large number of people, the questions asked by others were difficult, but most of them were related to the scope of several mathematical classics.
After all, there are many theories in "New Edition of Ge's Mathematics", but most of the questions given are relatively simple. As for the real baptism of the sea of questions, except for the students of Jiuzhang Hall, it is difficult for other self-taught people to experience it.
As for the third and fourth princes, who were talented but too young to be able to master the method of solving problems by setting up equations, it was actually not easy for them to set up the most appropriate equations for the three problems!
Sure enough, under his gaze, the Fourth Prince's expression became more and more irritated, and his movements of biting the pen to vent his anger became more and more violent. But soon, he began to look around, and when he found people who were as helpless as himself, he breathed a sigh of relief. But when he found people who were buried in writing and obviously had a lot of ideas, his expression turned unhappy.
Finally, the weird kid's gaze fell on the ferocious kid.
The Third Prince, who was considered to be cruel by Zhang Shou, was indeed not as honest and simple as usual. He did not answer the questions one by one, but relied on his first impression to assess whether he could answer them. Therefore, he discarded the first seven of the twenty questions in a short time.
When he saw the eighth question , the little guy showed some joy. After scribbling a few strokes on the draft paper, he immediately started to write down with a beaming face. After finishing this question in a moment, he glanced at it and continued to read the next one.
From the beginning to the end, he used a mechanism - he would skip the questions he didn't know how to do, and write them down on paper after calculating the questions he knew how to do. When he got to the 20th question, he took a glance and found that he had no clue. The third prince breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed his wrist and rested for a while, and then he began to secretly look at the people around him. With just a glance, he found that the fourth prince was looking at him strangely.
There was no usual concern and intimacy in those eyes, but instead, there was something that inexplicably made him feel uneasy.
He didn't know what was going on, but when he saw the Fourth Prince withdraw his gaze and then lower his head to do the questions again, he suppressed the confusion in his heart and re-examined his results. He found that he had just solved three questions, and he was immediately ecstatic, and hurriedly checked his thinking carefully to see if there was anything wrong.
For those watching the fun outside, such a written test was naturally not as interesting as the group interviews before. Besides, such an open day of the Imperial College only happened once a month, and not everyone came for the enrollment of the Nine Chapter Hall. After a while, more than half of the people left.
In this way, the people from Zhaoming Academy naturally stood out.
Yue Bufan, who was standing next to Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye, saw that his young student Fang Qing, who had questioned the Third Prince, was standing there alone. Even his fellow students were staying away from him. He could not help but frown, and he really regretted bringing such a talented but green-headed guy to the capital.
There is an order of seniority, and the Third Prince is known for his humility. It is said that the Fourth Prince has always respected such an elder brother. He, or probably others, would rather become the Third Prince's teacher, and subtly use their knowledge to influence such a popular candidate for the future Eastern Palace.
But this young and inexperienced student actually questioned Zhang Shou in public whether he was colluding with the Third Prince to cheat! Even if his starting point was to expose Zhang Shou, he didn't think about whether this would ruin the Third Prince's reputation.
Yue Bufan glanced at Fang Qing, whom he once valued, but who had lost his composure again and again upon arriving in Beijing and was now alone and distraught, and shook his head and said, "Fang Qing, I have already warned you before that when you first arrive in Beijing, you should be careful with your words and actions, and not make rash assumptions or hurt others with your words, but you keep breaking the taboo."
"Since you are a juren, and you are going to Beijing to prepare for the imperial examination next year, you don't need to follow me. Just find a quiet place and review your lessons well. Be modest and calm, and maybe you can ."
These words sounded gentle and kind, with both the admonition of an elder and earnest expectations. However, the students of Zhaoming Academy knew that their headmaster never liked to beat or scold students, and he would always chat and laugh with you. But if someone suddenly said a few words to you lightly and told you not to follow him anymore, then there was only one answer.
From now on, you are no longer his student... Zhaoming Academy no longer welcomes you!
The young Fang Qing's face turned pale. He opened his mouth as if to plead with the teacher, and looked at the brothers as if for help. Seeing that everyone avoided his gaze, he immediately felt hopeless and did not dare to say a word. He bowed deeply and staggered out.
But before he had taken a few steps, he saw a group of sturdy warriors in plain clothes running towards him and standing on both sides. He thought that he had just ridiculed the third prince and attracted this group of people. He was shocked and angry for a moment, but just as he was shocked, a young man in his early thirties strode towards him. Then, he heard a surprised voice behind him: "Your Majesty?"
