Chapter 51: The Fox Takes Advantage of the Tiger

The next morning, when Li Nuo got up, the bedding beside the bed had been made up, and his wife was nowhere to be seen.

Overall he slept well yesterday, and it was the most peaceful and comfortable sleep he had since coming here.

Firstly, Song Qian and the Mengnan couple were not making a fuss next door, and secondly, his wife was sleeping next to him. Before going to bed, he fell asleep peacefully with a full sense of security.

I sat on the bed and stretched my body. After I got out of bed, the toiletries were already placed on the table.

After washing up, Li Nuo walked into the yard. He didn't see his wife, but Butler Wu was already waiting there.

Steward Wu is nominally the chief steward of the Li Mansion, but in fact his main task is to be responsible for his own safety.

Basically, he would follow Li Nuo wherever he went, and when they were outside, he would never be more than three steps away from him.

It was already late, so Li Nuo informed the maid of the Song Mansion and asked her to tell his mistress. Then he left the Song Mansion and went to the Chang'an County Government.

When walking out of the gate of the Song Mansion, Li Nuo passed by an old man with gray hair.

The old man was holding a thick book in his arms. He had already walked more than ten steps into the Song Mansion, then stopped and looked back.

The young man looked unfamiliar. He had never seen him before and didn't know which relative of the Song family he was.

But none of this matters. What concerns him at the moment is another more important matter.

After half a month of testing, he was convinced that the "Brother Li Nuo" mentioned by Song Muer had profound attainments in mathematics.

Not only did he understand the nine numbers, he could also explain them in an easy-to-understand way, so that even a six-year-old child could understand the obscure mathematics. Even he, who had taught mathematics all his life, had to admit that he was superior to him.

That boy is a natural born teacher.

However, the problem he left for the Soong sisters yesterday did not belong to any of the "nine numbers". I wonder if he can still solve it.

For most people, mastering the "Nine Numbers" is enough for mathematics, because the imperial examination only tests the nine numbers. But in addition to the nine numbers, there are many other problems that involve mathematics.

For example, this problem of watering horses.

Although it is not within the scope of the "Nine Numbers", it is a real problem that will be encountered on the battlefield. Speed ​​is of the essence in war. If you can be faster than the enemy, you can seize a slight advantage.

Many times, this slight advantage can determine the outcome of a war.

He has also been studying this issue recently, but has not yet come up with any results.

He admitted that it was narrow-minded to leave such a problem, which has not yet been concluded in the academic world, to a six-year-old girl, but he had suffered too many blows in recent days and he really wanted to save some face in front of his students.

"Hello, Mr. Chen."

"Meet Mr. Chen..."

Along the way, the servants of the Song Mansion kept greeting him. The old man nodded slightly, passed through several doors, walked through several corridors, and came to a room.

Three figures, one big and two small, were already waiting in the room.

Every time he saw Song Jiaren, Mr. Chen felt a little guilty, thinking that he had not taught her well enough back then.

"Hello, sir!"

Song Muer and Song Ning'er stood up and greeted respectfully.

Mr. Chen nodded, put down the book, and asked impatiently, "Have you finished the homework I left for you yesterday?"

Song Ning'er shook her head and said, "No, the homework assigned by the teacher is too difficult. I asked Brother Yu, my father, and my second uncle, and they all said they didn't know..."

Mr. Chen did not say anything. Even he and several mathematical masters had not figured out the answer to this question. If the Song family could figure it out, he would be shocked.

From the beginning to the end, the only person he cared about was Brother Li Nuo as Song Muer called him.

When his eyes turned to Song Muer, Song Muer nodded and said, "Sir, it's done."

Song Ning'er was stunned when she heard this, and immediately questioned her, "Didn't you say you don't know how to do it either?"

Song Muer glanced at her, snorted, raised her chin proudly, and said, "I can't do it, but my brother Li Nuo can..."

"fraud!"

Song Ning'er had a dark face, folded her arms, and turned her head away.

Song Muer snorted coldly: "How many times have you lied to Brother Li Nuo..."

Mr. Chen didn't want to watch the two twin sisters quarreling, so he asked, "How did he solve it?"

He devoted his entire life to mathematics, and whenever he encountered a math problem that others had solved but he still couldn't solve, he would be eager to solve it...

Song Muer took out a mathematics booklet from the small bag she carried with her and turned to the last page.

When Mr. Chen saw the picture for the first time, he understood it in his heart.

He has studied mathematics all his life, and most of the time, what he lacks is just a little idea and inspiration.

This person's thinking on this issue is so brilliant.

Those real and unreal lines were like a few bright rays of light, dispelling the fog that had shrouded his heart these days and revealing the truth beneath the fog.

Mr. Chen held the booklet in his hands, his eyes sparkling with wonder, as if he were holding a rare treasure. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Excellent, excellent, really excellent. Those old guys would never have thought of such an excellent solution!"

Song Jiaren glanced at the excited Mr. Chen, and an idea came to her mind.

Could it be that Mr. Chen doesn't know the answer to this question either?

This was a little hard for her to believe. Mr. Chen was a master of mathematics in Daxia. He had no interest in a career in politics and devoted his life to studying mathematics. He had many students all over the world and produced many top scorers in mathematics.

Many officials in the court were considered his students. It can be said that in mathematics, he was definitely at the top.

How could there be a math problem that he couldn't solve?

Noticing Song Jiaren's gaze, Mr. Chen realized that he had lost his composure.

He coughed twice and said, "Mu'er has done a great job on his homework this time. I will reward you with a flower. The teacher suddenly has something urgent to do, so we won't learn new content today. You can review what you have learned before..."

Song Muer and Song Ning'er were naturally happy that they didn't have to attend Mr. Chen's boring math class. After the teacher left, they didn't even remember to review and immediately ran out of the classroom to play.

Song Jiaren looked at Mr. Chen's hurriedly leaving back, thinking that he must be in a hurry, because he was walking and then running. An old man at his age could walk very fast, and when he crossed the threshold, he actually jumped over it...

Qingfeng Academy.

As one of the four major academies in Chang'an, Qingfeng Academy holds a high status in the minds of scholars in Daxia. The location of the academy is also extremely advantageous. It is located in the southwest of Chang'an, covering a large area. There are mountains and water in the academy, and the environment is extremely quiet.

This was originally a royal garden. Later, in order to commend Qingfeng Academy for its contribution to the court, an emperor of Daxia specially selected this royal garden as the site and built a new academy here.

The four major academies each have their own strengths. Yunmeng Academy specializes in military tactics, riding and archery, and is the cradle of military generals. Dongshan Academy is famous for its music. Beixi Academy is excellent in both calligraphy and painting. Qingfeng Academy is outstanding in mathematics. More than 70% of the civil servants in the court come from these four major academies.

At this moment, in a small courtyard by the lake in the back mountain of Qingfeng Academy.

Three gray-haired old men in Confucian robes gathered in front of a drawing, holding wooden rulers and measuring something on it from time to time.

They have been studying this problem for several days.

Although they had measured the range of the answer with a ruler, mathematics is a precise subject. There is only one answer to this question. For them, just determining the range is far from enough, even if this range has been narrowed down to a very small level.

As they were thinking, a figure suddenly walked in from outside with his hands behind his back.

The three of them were thinking intently and no one noticed.

Mr. Chen walked behind them and coughed loudly. The three of them heard the sound and turned around at the same time.

Mr. Chen looked at them with a disdainful gaze and said calmly, "You three old fellows, each of you is known as a master of mathematics, how come you can't even solve such a simple problem? You really disappoint me..."

Inside the courtyard, three people turned around at the same time. An old man with a gaunt face raised his eyebrows and asked, "Old man, have you figured it out?"

Mr. Chen stroked his beard and said, "Of course. This simple question is not even worth my thinking for a long time. Just admit it, I am better than you guys in mathematics..."

The three of them frowned slightly. The tone of this old guy was too arrogant.

All four of them are retired mathematics professors from Qingfeng Academy. They are known as masters in the mathematics world of Daxia, and none of them are willing to submit to the other.

An old man with a gaunt face snorted coldly and said, "Come on, let's see how you solved it..."

Mr. Chen waved his sleeves, snatched the ruler from his hand, picked up the pen to draw a few real and imaginary lines on the picture, and then threw the ruler and pen on the table.

The three old men ignored him and stared at the drawings on the table.

"this……"

"The sum of two sides of a triangle is greater than the third side?"

"Great! By moving this point over, we can turn a three-place problem into a two-place problem!"

"Old man, you have such a rotten head, but you can come up with such a brilliant solution..."

They have studied mathematics for a lifetime and did not need Mr. Chen's explanation. Just by looking at these few simple lines, they had already understood the mystery and could not help but speak.

They didn’t expect that the solution to the problem that had troubled them for days was so simple.

All they lack is a little inspiration.

But for mathematics, this little bit of inspiration is the most rare and the most important.

The solution to this problem seems simple, but it completely goes beyond the scope of "nine numbers" and even modern mathematics. It is a completely new way of thinking.

They have studied the "Nine Numbers" for their entire lives, and their thinking has been confined to one category, making it difficult for them to come up with new ideas.

I have to say that this time the old guy named Chen really impressed them.

Of course, after fighting for a lifetime, there is still some resentment in their hearts.

An old man took out another piece of paper, handed it to Mr. Chen, and said, "Old man, take another look at this one. If you can solve it, I, Lu Yunting, will admit that you are better than me..."

Mr. Chen took the paper, glanced at it, put it in his sleeve, and said, "I already have a solution to this problem, but I'm going to be late for the class for the two little girls in the Song Mansion. I will answer your questions tomorrow..."

After saying this, without waiting for the three to speak, he immediately turned around and walked out of the yard.

After leaving Qingfeng Academy, he looked back and saw that no one was following him. He immediately turned around and ran towards the direction of the Song Mansion...

(End of this chapter)