Chapter 11 Everyone

Lao Cheng was stunned. He never imagined that there were people in the world who studied these things. He was speechless and opened his mouth wide.

Seeing that Cheng was dumbfounded, Yun Ye shook his arm. Cheng then came to his senses and asked, “What else did you teach?”

“Calculus, physics, geometry, mechanical drawing, map drawing, metal casting, and other elementary knowledge.” Yun Ye said all the knowledge he had learned at school in one breath.

“What is the science of salt making?”

“Physics. Simple dissolution, filtration, detoxification, evaporation, crystallization, and salt is made. In short, physics is a study of the laws of the universe, and I will show you later.”

“Can I see it? Is there no restriction on this in your school?”

“Scholarship, scholarship, you have to learn while asking, what can one person do? When my teacher taught me, he told me that once I had the opportunity, I must spread my knowledge throughout the world. The end of the chaos in the world is the beginning of the rule of law. After many years of chaos, I have lost so much of our Han culture. This is the work of the ancestors and the wealth of future generations. How can it not make people sad? How dare I hide my knowledge?

“I am a simple man who despises the pedantic. But I dare not show the slightest disrespect to the truly learned. There are a few in Chang’an. When I go back, I will take you to them to seek their advice. They will definitely teach you in the name of my face. I am waiting to see the day when you have become a great scholar. Since you have studied mathematics, you have been praised by several people in the army. How good is it to see what you have learned?”

Yun Ye saw that Lao Cheng was going to test him, and he laughed to himself. In the Tang Dynasty, where “three-fold wells, chickens and rabbits in the same cage, and Han Xin’s military review” were all considered super difficult problems, Yun Ye didn’t believe there were any problems that could test him.

“Uncle, why don’t you ask a few more people, prepare a few more difficult questions, and spend a little more effort. It doesn’t matter, my nephew hasn’t eaten yet.”

Seeing Yun Ye’s arrogance, Cheng Yaojin was unusually calm and took a jade pendant out of his bosom.

Green jade? Yun Ye recognized it at a glance as the legendary top-quality white jade. In later generations, you won’t be able to ask the price without tens of millions. He held back the drool and asked, “Uncle, are you giving it to your nephew?” He reached out to take it, but Lao Cheng retracted his hand and stuffed it into his bosom.

“Want it? If you win the three praise strokes, it’s yours.” After saying that, he opened the curtain and went out.

Yun Ye finally didn’t have to kneel. The previous kneeling position was killing him. His thighs were aching, and his buttocks were swollen and painful as if there were two big ones. Carefully spreading his legs, he sat down, put a piece of braised pork in his mouth, and chewed it up. It turned out to be beef. Wasn’t killing a cow in the Tang Dynasty a sentence? How could this old guy kill a cow as he pleased? Then he thought back, probably no one would be so blind as to go to the Zuowei camp to catch a cow killer.

After a few bites of beef, two pieces of cooked mutton, and a small deer leg, Yun Ye suddenly felt that life was so beautiful. He held the teapot and poured half a pot of tea. The raw tea of the Tang Dynasty was also ground into a powder, and the smell of grass rushed straight to his brain. He gulped it down, pretending it was a vitamin supplement. Old Cheng had not returned yet, and Cheng Chumo was nowhere to be seen. Bored, Yun Ye fell asleep on the carpet with his arm propped up.

Yun Ye lay on the carpet in a four-pointed position, snoring intermittently, and occasionally interspersed with sobbing sounds. He didn’t know what he was dreaming about, and his face was covered with tears.

Cheng Chumo walked in gently, saw Yun Ye in this state, shook his head, and then tiptoed out of the tent.

Outside the tent stood a middle-aged scholar, his hands clasped, his face full of arrogance. He was already dissatisfied with Cheng Yaojin’s request for him to compete with Yun Ye, and thought that he had studied mathematics for nearly twenty years, but now he had to compete with a young man who had not yet grown out of his milk breath. If it weren’t for the general’s order, he would have left long ago. He didn’t want to deign to point out this kid, and he was actually sleeping soundly, which was really not a good son.

Cheng Chumo looked at the middle-aged scholar’s pale face and was displeased. My brother has been working day and night to make salt for the entire army, and today he has traveled more than 60 miles. What is wrong with a 14 or 15-year-old baby sleeping? This period of time has been hard on my brother. I haven’t seen him crying while he’s asleep. What else can you do besides writing and calculating? When he thought of this, his face was even uglier.

“School Captain, this brat is really rude. He pretended to be asleep to avoid the test. I originally had the intention of giving him some pointers, but it seems that he is beyond redemption. I am leaving!” The middle-aged scholar ignored Cheng Chumo’s gloomy face and waved his hand to leave.

Cheng Chumo reached out and grabbed the scholar’s sleeve: “Mr. Huang, please calm down. Since the general has already given his order, it would be better if you stayed.”

“This boy is rude and must have limited talent and virtue. He is a country bumpkin and is not qualified to talk about mathematics. Since I, Huang Zhi’en, tied my hair and went to school, I have experienced many hardships before I was able to study under the tutelage of Liu, the head of the Imperial Academy. After seven years of study, I was able to gain a glimpse of the door in mathematics. It is not easy to study. On the General’s behalf, Huang Zhi’en reluctantly did it, but was humiliated. Huang Zhi’en is leaving!” Cheng Chumo took the general’s admonition to heart, and Huang Zhi’en could no longer hold back his anger. He turned and left. As soon as he turned around, he heard a lazy voice coming from somewhere.

“It’s not easy to learn for seven years. Can you solve the nine-square grid? Can you know the rope logging? Do you know the Pythagorean theorem? How tall is Mount Tai? How much sand does the Yellow River carry?”

Huang Zhi’en looked at Yun Ye, who was leaning against the tent door, and said in a trembling voice, “Two and four are the shoulders, six and eight are the feet, seven on the left and three on the right, nine on the head and one on the foot, which is the correct solution to the nine-square grid. The well is not known how deep it is, the rope is not known how long it is, three folds into the well, four feet left, four folds into the well, one foot left, the well is eight feet deep, the rope is thirty-six feet long. The “Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art” says in the section on the Pythagorean Theorem: “Three parts of a line are equal to four parts of a line, and five parts of a line are equal to the whole line. I know how it is, but I don’t know why it is so. How high is Mount Tai? How much sand does the Yellow River carry? Only the heavens know.”

“There is nothing in the world that cannot be measured. If the height of a mountain can be measured by the shadow of a mountain in the sun, and the volume of the Yellow River can be measured by a bucket, then why can’t the height of a mountain be measured by the shadow of a mountain in the sun? According to what I know, there are no less than 500 ways to prove the Pythagorean theorem. What you learn should be applied in practice. Otherwise, why bother learning it?”

“How do you know? How do you know? The Imperial Academy keeps its secrets from the public. I only heard my teacher mention it, but you know it so well. What is the reason?”

“There are so many masters of mathematics in the world, why do you only know about the Imperial Academy? Can you solve the nine-square problem? Can you solve the sixteen-square problem? Can you solve the thirty-two-square problem? You know the one-square problem and the two-square problem, but can you solve the three-square problem and the multi-square problem? You treat these interesting problems like treasures, keeping them secret. How ridiculous! These problems are just like the games I played when I was a child. It’s ridiculous for a frog at the bottom of a well to speculate on the size of the sky.

Huang Zhi’en only felt a loud noise in his ears. Some of what Yun Ye said were only legends, and some were unheard of. He was an expert and knew that Yun Ye was not speaking off the cuff. Not to mention himself, I’m afraid that even if my teacher were here, he wouldn’t be much better than me.

Yun Ye walked over to Huang Zhi’en, picked up a branch, and casually drew a circle and square diagram on the ground, then threw the branch away and casually said, “Today, I was rude first. Zhao Shuang’s circle and square diagram and my master’s circle and square diagram are for you.

Huang Zhi’en’s thoughts were already far from Yun Ye’s rudeness. He was lying on the ground, muttering to himself, and writing and drawing with his fingers. He didn’t care what Yun Ye and Cheng Chumo were doing.

Cheng Chumo patted Yun Ye on the back: “You are worthy of being my brother. I knew you wouldn’t lose to Suanding. As expected, drinking is not allowed in the army. Otherwise, you and I will get drunk together.”

Yun Ye rubbed his shoulder and looked resentful. The father and son spanked each other, one on the buttocks, the other on the shoulder, without any regard for whether the other person could take it. He quickly stopped the hand that was about to spank him again, or else he would fall apart.

“Brother, I’ve been on the road all morning, and I’m covered in sweat and stink. It’s rude to say goodbye to Uncle Cheng, so I’d better take a bath and change clothes.” Yun Ye now felt the pain of a needle in his butt. Old Cheng’s slap was not something anyone could bear.

Seeing Yun Ye rubbing his buttocks, Cheng Chumo’s face was full of sympathy, as if he had also received a lot of slaps. “Let’s go together. I feel uncomfortable without a bath every day now. It’s strange. In the past, my mother forced me to take a bath with a feather duster in the capital. Now that no one is forcing me, I don’t feel comfortable without a bath. What is the reason for this? Am I a cheap skin and hair donkey that won’t go when hit and goes backwards when hit?

“This is a matter of habit. A person can develop a habit in 15 days. If you don’t believe me, find a pig and knock on its trough every day before feeding it. After 10 or so days, even if you don’t feed it, as long as you knock on the trough, the pig will come running.”

“This is really amazing. If I knock on your food bowl, will you come running to me after a few days?”

The two brothers went to the back tent to take a shower without mentioning it. General Cheng sat in the main tent, waiting for no one on the left and no one on the right. He muttered to himself, “Could it be that the kid really has talent? I didn’t test him in person, but I saved a little face for Yun Ye. I didn’t expect that this kid could fight Huang Zhi’en for so long.

Huang Zhi’en is also considered one of the best scholars in the capital. In order to solve the logistics problems of the army, he had to lower his face and find Liu Xin several times, but the old man still gave him a hard time. He really couldn’t stand it, so he sent Huang Zhi’en to help him. Huang Zhi’en did not disappoint his reputation. The logistics in the army were much smoother. It is not easy for Yun to be able to compete with him until now. I was wrong to underestimate him. A 14-year-old boy can compete with a 40-year-old man and not lose. When he grows up, he will be a monster.

Thinking of this, Lao Cheng could no longer sit still and got up and walked towards the tent. From a distance, he saw a group of people gathered around the tent entrance, but they were silent. When the soldiers saw the arrival of the general, they dispersed in a loud noise.

Huang Zhi’en was seen lying on the ground, muttering to himself, while his subordinates were writing and drawing, covered in dust, as if they had fallen into a trance. However, Yun Ye was nowhere to be seen.

Lao Cheng’s curiosity was piqued. He beckoned to the guard who was guarding the tent and asked what was going on and where Yun Ye was.

The guard had also accompanied Cheng Chumu to the salt mine, seen the magic of salt mining, and heard the story of the Monkey King. He had long admired Yun Ye and was waiting for the general to ask him, with a look of disdain on his face. He told Yun Ye about Huang Zhi’en’s madness in a few words.

Old Cheng looked at Huang Zhi’en, who was still counting on the ground, and ordered his personal guard to give him an umbrella to shade him from the sun and prepare a pot of tea for him. He then turned and returned to the general’s tent. As soon as he entered the general’s tent, a burst of laughter came from the tent.