Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 592: Taking Advantage of the Topic and the Mathematical Hall
Apart from the second day of October when the lecture was suspended, the lecture of the 27th year of Yongping lasted for five days. Because the emperor deliberately fanned the flames and added fuel to the fire, the lecture of the five days was an eye-opener, with all kinds of interesting scenes, such as verbal battles, debates with heroes, etc., which made people stunned.
And because the Third Prince, the future Crown Prince, was attending the entire session, and there were rumors that the Emperor would use this opportunity to select lecturers for the Eastern Palace, countless people put in their best efforts and displayed their best abilities.
However, the third prince, who was rumored to be shy and introverted, and had always seemed unknown and insignificant before the accidents of the eldest and second princes, made most people's powerful attacks seem like hitting a cotton ball.
Because he just stood there quietly from beginning to end, with curiosity in his eyes and a smile on his face, but he was mostly whispering to the emperor and rarely spoke anything. Of course, except for the day when Zhang Shou gave a lecture. But that time the third prince spoke because Zhang Shou asked the question first.
But now, if someone else were to give a lecture at the imperial lecture, who could ask the third prince questions in a very natural tone like ? After all, Zhang Shou had been the third prince's actual teacher, and no one else had!
As for Zhang Shou, who was talked about by countless people, he showed up on the first day of the imperial lecture, and presided over Lu Sanlang's coming-of-age ceremony on the second day. He did not attend the imperial lecture again in the next few days.
Although there were more than a dozen memorials impeaching him for arrogance, spreading rumors to mislead the public, and having a suspicious background, the impeachment offensive was suddenly silenced when the emperor suddenly issued an edict to confer the title of first-rank Lady Zhaolie on his deceased biological mother, Widow Zhang.
At the same time, the news that he had taken Ye Mengqiu and the other four to Zhang Garden to stay spread quickly. Although some people spread rumors that he was jealous of talented people and intended to harm his fellow mathematicians, on the sixth day of October, the emperor summoned Zhang Shou, Ye Mengqiu and the other four to the Wenhua Hall for a lecture, and the rumors were immediately refuted.
Before the emperor arrived, everyone saw Zhang Shou, Ye Mengqiu and the other four chatting and laughing. Anyone who was not blind could see the harmonious atmosphere. In the past, some young and energetic censors would inevitably jump out to make trouble, but now there are more people who have suffered losses. The court officials have learned from their mistakes, and even if they have a lot of questions in their hearts, no one speaks up.
The Queen Mother did not come that day, but many princesses and daughters of various families still came. Princess Yongping remained aloof and coldly watched Zhu Ying happily showing off her ideal husband to others - if it were in the past, she would definitely laugh at Zhu Ying's shallowness, but now she had to admit a fact.
If it were any other girl besides Zhu Ying, she would definitely show off if she had a fiancé like Zhang Shou who was both talented and handsome. Didn't you see that Liu Qing's fiancé was still Lu Sanlang, the fat boy who was once despised by others, but she still praised the fat boy to others?
When the emperor arrived again with the third and fourth princes, what he saw was a harmonious scene. Before announcing the start of today's imperial lecture, he suddenly looked at Zhang Shou and laughed with interest.
"Jiuzhang, I heard that on the day of Lu Gaoyuan's coming-of-age ceremony, someone came to question you, but you didn't take it as an offense, and even invited them to Zhang Garden to discuss mathematics. You have always been young and ambitious, and Jiuzhang Hall has a new style, but this time you acted in a very ancient way, so I invited these guests from your family to come here."
The emperor's opening remarks immediately attracted everyone's attention - Emperor, do you have any shame?
Everyone knows that you, Bailong Yufu, went to the Lu family to watch the fun that day. Why are you still talking nonsense with your eyes open? I heard that... Emperor, you clearly saw it with your own eyes!
However, the emperor was already accustomed to such strange gazes from his ministers - from when he was the crown prince and skipped some courses taught by the annoying lecturer, to when he deliberately used extraordinary methods to play tricks on some university scholars before he took power, to when he acted recklessly after he took power, he had no idea how many collective stares of blame and questioning he had endured.
Although he is now mature and more sophisticated, the emperor still lies without any scruples and with his eyes open.
At this time, he just pretended not to see those sharp eyes, and just stared at Zhang Shou and the four people around him with a smile. Finally, under his gaze, the round-faced boy looked embarrassed, and the other three also looked pale. Especially the middle-aged man who didn't recognize him but called him "this sir", he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Before these people made any move, Zhang Shou stood up and bowed calmly, saying, "Your Majesty, my teacher once said that people with the same ideals may have disputes for a while, but they will eventually reach the same destination. People who are incompatible in appearance may be inseparable, but they will eventually go their separate ways."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers who had been staring at the emperor shifted their gazes in unison - those glances, some of surprise or suspicion, suddenly fell on Ge Yong.
In response, Master Ge looked calm, and he didn't even blink, which was more calm than Zhang Shou. However, he couldn't help cursing in his heart. Zhang Shou was really addicted to fabricating his own quotations, and he actually said it in public!
However, he thought about it carefully and realized that if he and Zhang Shou switched places, they would indeed say something similar. So he snorted inwardly and decided to accept it for the time being and settle the score with Zhang Shou when he returned.
Zhang Shou was sure that Ge Yong would not expose his fabricated sayings and would take the blame for it. Therefore, after seeing all the officials went to see Ge Yong, he continued calmly, "The four brothers of the Ye family studied under famous masters, but for various reasons, they could not find more works of mathematical predecessors. Although Lu Gaoyuan has a bookshop to print books, the mathematical classics of the predecessors are too high to be understood by many people."
"On one hand, those who are interested in learning cannot find suitable books, and on the other hand, the book printers can only watch a large number of famous works being shelved. Therefore, although this misunderstanding caused a big stir, now not only has the past grudge been resolved, but everyone has also gained something. Since the emperor is concerned about asking about this, I would like to say that if every misunderstanding can bring such diligent colleagues, then it would be good to have more misunderstandings."
When Ye Mengqiu heard Zhang Shou casually cover up the previous embarrassing incident with a misunderstanding, his round face suddenly turned red.
He was a person who was always smiling and easy to talk to anyone. He had rushed forward because none of his three senior brothers knew how to argue. Now thinking about it, he felt that he was really stupid.
Although he felt his legs trembling slightly when he stood in the Wenhua Palace, he still mustered up the courage to stand up and said, "Your Majesty, I was blinded by a single leaf and failed to see the big picture, so I misunderstood Dr. Zhang and Master Lu, and even spoke rudely. I am really ashamed. But..."
He suddenly raised his voice, his face full of anger as he said, "That's because someone spread rumors all over Northern Zhili, saying that Dr. Zhang was arrogant, that he regarded himself as the master of mathematics, excluded those who were different from him, and that he was the only one who had the final say in the Jiuzhang Hall! He was said to have forgotten his ancestors and believed in foreign countries more than the predecessors, and that he had tampered with the mathematical classics and passed them off as his own works... Anyway, he was accused of countless crimes!"
"Because our forefather left a will, hoping that one of us could return to the Imperial Observatory and rebuild the calendar, the four of us took advantage of the emperor's call for talents and responded to the call for talents in astronomy and numerology. Previously, out of righteous indignation, we rashly barged into the third son of Lu's coming-of-age ceremony. We were indeed rude, but after staying in Zhang Garden for a few days, our horizons have really been broadened..."
Because he had not learned etiquette, many people thought Ye Mengqiu's response was inappropriate and against the rules. Moreover, this person did not accuse them of living in Zhang Garden with humiliation and then expose Zhang Shou's fake mask in court. Instead, he spoke for Zhang Shou everywhere and talked about how good the atmosphere in Zhang Garden was. In their opinion, that was naturally currying favor with the powerful!
It was difficult for Zhang Shou to criticize him. After all, he was full of thorns and was not alone. Not only did he have Ge Yong, the imperial teacher, as his teacher, but he also had Zhu Ying, his fiancée, who was eyeing him covetously. The emperor was also obviously partial to him, and the third prince respected this teacher very much. But how could they not criticize a little-known boy? Someone immediately shouted, "Your Majesty..."
"Oh, it seems like you two are acquainted with each other after fighting."
However, before the man could speak, the emperor smiled and made the final decision. He was used to seeing those who were strict and well-behaved, and he felt that the round-faced boy in front of him, who was incoherent but indignant, was really pleasing to his eyes, so he paused when he said this, and then suddenly turned to another direction.
"Lu Gaoyuan, in your opinion, what is the mathematical attainment of the four brothers Ye Mengqiu?"
When he heard Ah Liu say that the emperor was going to let him select the mathematical talents summoned to Beijing, Lu Sanlang was full of energy. Now he was even happier to hear that the emperor actually called him by his nice courtesy name. He nodded politely to Ye Mengqiu, and also nodded to the other party's three senior brothers who were not young at all. His demeanor was very much like Zhang Shou.
"Since he was able to pass the initial screening by the local government and be recommended to the imperial court, he must be a talented person."
The fat boy praised him at first, but then changed the subject and said, "But please forgive me for being frank. In the past, the imperial court had always strictly enforced the ban on astronomy and mathematics, and it was difficult to find mathematical classics among the people. Young Master Ye and his four disciples have studied and practiced diligently based on the manuscripts handed down by their ancestors. Although they have mastered everything they can, they still have many shortcomings."
When Lu Sanlang called him Young Master Ye, Lu Wan couldn't help wanting to scratch her ears. You're still taking advantage of your age to call him Young Master Ye... That Ye Mengqiu seems to be one year older than you!
However, he was still sweating in his heart, very worried that Lu Sanlang's judgment of others' mathematical skills would cause them to be disgusted and turn the situation that was obviously very good just now upside down. However, he was extremely surprised that the four brothers did not get angry even though his fat boy's comments on the other party were extremely harsh.
Not only did he not get angry, but Ye Mengqiu even lowered his head sadly. At this moment, many people in the Wenhua Hall had heard that the four brothers, including the round-faced boy, were the second-generation disciples of a certain Imperial Observatory Director, so when they saw this expression, most people's first reaction was surprise.
According to Mr. Kong's usual temper, he would have long been unable to resist rebuking you for being unworthy of the reputation and for not making a fool of yourself by coming out. However, he saw that the situation was not right today and forcibly suppressed this impulse.
Sure enough, Lu Sanlang then said calmly, "Young Master Ye and his four fellow disciples have been in Zhang Garden these days. We have discussed many mathematical problems and learned a lot from each other. However, mathematical books were hard to come by in the past, and the one used by Jiuzhang Hall is the Ge's New Edition of Mathematics. They are not very good at some of the basic things that Jiuzhang Hall teaches now."
Ye Mengqiu was just ashamed, but his three brothers who were more worldly-wise couldn't help but curse Lu Sanlang for being cunning in their hearts - the basic things in Jiuzhangtang? Quadratic equations are called basics, and proofs of various geometric bodies are called basics... God knows that in order to accept these terms that are so different from those of their ancestors, they are simply overwhelmed!
As for the simple calculation methods that Zhang Shou taught to the students of Jiuzhang Hall, Ye Mengqiu seemed to have gained something, but they had not... However, Lu Sanlang enthusiastically gave them several boxes of mathematical classics from his predecessors, and they could not help but appreciate this kindness.
Completely different from the rumors, the Ge family's mathematical classics...they actually took the initiative to get in touch with it later.
However, just as the three of them had this idea, Lu Sanlang said sincerely: "I know that most bookstores in the world are profit-driven. Even though the ban on astronomy and mathematics has been gradually lifted, there are still few bookstores in the private sector willing to sell these books. In order to allow students who are interested in mathematics to not worry about not having books to read, I would like to give them the 23 different mathematical classics that I gave to my fellow teachers before..."
"Have the scripture factory print 500 copies, and then select 30 to 50 major cities, and then send bookshops to set up mathematical classics halls in those cities, so that ordinary students can copy the books for free! If Your Majesty thinks this is too expensive, my bookshop can even print the books for free! Of course, in order to help with understanding, I also plan to include the Ge's New Compilation of Mathematics."
Zhang Shou smiled as he watched Lu Sanlang talking, and even proposed this good idea that would definitely not be criticized as forgetting one's roots. Seeing that a large number of court officials were dumbfounded at first, and then many showed expressions of great shock and anger, but no one jumped out to oppose, he couldn't help but laugh .
Bookstores pursue profits, but if there is someone behind them to support them, they will make money even if they lose money, because this is the best publicity channel for literati. Mathematics has been blocked for so many years, and the books of the predecessors of mathematics are full of various difficult-to-pronounce special terms. There are almost no basic mathematics books that can be compared with the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic. Some people predict that it will be difficult to promote.
Even if the students of Jiuzhangtang seem to have a bright future, as long as there are not many books on the arithmetic in bookstores all over the world, there won't be many people interested. How many people can afford to flock to the capital to find opportunities? You know, it's not easy to live in the capital!
Lu Sanlang's move was like a heavy blow to a hibernating snake, but the snake was not yet alert! Therefore, while there was silence, he took over the conversation: "I also remember that the teacher once said that mathematics should be learned from childhood."
