In less than half a day, the news of the New First Army's great victory over the Guang family army flew back to the Huangxian County government office as if it had grown wings.
Xu Rurong sat upright in the hall, reviewing official documents in her hands.
On either side of the hall stood the advisors of the Crown Prince, renowned scholars, and students from the Imperial Academy who had traveled from the capital.
A group of people sat upright, each with a different expression.
Upon hearing of the great victory at the front, Xu Rurong only slightly raised her eyelids, her expression remaining as calm and composed as ever.
It was as if this outcome was something he had expected and was not surprising.
"Understood. Instruct General Jiang and Military Advisor Ling to properly handle the surrendered soldiers, take stock of the battle losses, and bring them back as soon as possible. These are all new soldiers and laborers." Xu Rurong's voice was calm, without the slightest hint of emotion.
"Yes!" The messenger accepted the order and left.
However, the advisors of the Crown Prince, the great Confucian scholars, and the students of the Imperial Academy who had been "invited" to the hall did not share this composure.
A young student from the Imperial Academy gasped in surprise.
"What? The tens of thousands of rebel troops from the Guang family were wiped out without even setting foot on the border of Qingzhou?"
His words were like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples everywhere.
Several elderly scholars with white hair standing nearby also looked horrified, whispering among themselves, their eyes filled with disbelief.
"This, how is this possible? That's an army of tens of thousands!"
"Could it be that the New First Army has divine soldiers descending from the sky?"
"A barren mountain? Is a barren mountain that powerful?"
The advisors in the Eastern Palace exchanged glances, their eyes filled with deep apprehension.
They clearly remembered that not long ago, the young Magistrate Xu had casually remarked that the Guang family army probably couldn't even reach the borders of Qingzhou.
At the time, they were somewhat dismissive, even secretly mocking his youthful arrogance and ignorance.
Who would have thought that his words would come true!
The power of this desolate mountain is terrifying!
An aide whispered, "I had heard that the followers of the Desolate Mountain God were extremely powerful, but now it seems that his mortal soldiers are also brave and skilled in battle. They should not be underestimated!"
Another person added, "They're not just not to be underestimated, they're unheard of!"
Those of them, who had lived in the capital for a long time and considered themselves well-informed, felt that their understanding had been completely overturned.
Among the crowd, a middle-aged staff member with a pointed face and shifty eyes quietly approached Xie Wendong.
“Mr. Xie,” he lowered his voice, his tone trembling slightly, “this desolate mountain is far too strange and unpredictable.”
"The Guang family army, which boasts 20,000 men, has been so utterly defeated!"
"In my opinion, we are probably... probably doomed!"
Xie Wendong toyed with the ancient bronze abacus in his hand, the beads making a crisp clinking sound as they were moved.
His eyelids were lowered, as if he hadn't heard the staff member's rambling.
His gaze passed over the noisy crowd and landed on the open space in front of the factory not far away.
There, a group of children, around seven or eight years old, sat in a circle, laughing and playing, their innocent faces carefree.
The afternoon sun dappled through the sparse shadows of the trees, casting dappled patterns on them, making the children look exceptionally joyful.
One of the little girls, with her hair in two buns, was gesturing wildly and muttering something to herself.
"This is the distributive property of multiplication, you've got it wrong! If you have many identical things to add together, you can multiply first and then add, which is much faster!"
"Wow! It really is!" exclaimed another chubby-faced little boy.
"Sister Ming, if you memorize the multiplication table, will you be able to do calculations much faster?" a younger girl asked.
"Of course!" Cai Ming puffed out her small chest, looking smug.
Another slightly older boy was holding a twig and drawing crisscrossing grids on the ground while rapidly reciting a string of numbers.
"...Three times seven is twenty-one, four times eight is thirty-two...One hundred catties of rice, fifteen coins per catty, that's a total of one thousand five hundred coins!"
"Grandma Wang bought three catties of meat yesterday, at thirty coins per catty, two catties of vegetables, at five coins per catty, and a peck of flour, at fifty coins... for a total of one hundred and fifty coins!"
A group of children chattered away, and in a short time, they had already calculated several amounts.
The speed and the method were so impressive that Xie Wendong was slightly taken aback.
Xie Wendong frowned almost imperceptibly.
He was not a great Confucian scholar of his time, but he was extremely proficient in mathematics and boasted that his skill in using the abacus had reached a state of perfection.
In his view, there was no other method of calculation in the world that could surpass the abacus.
But the new algorithm these children were talking about sounded even faster than his abacus.
How is that possible?
A question suddenly arose in his mind, and he unconsciously started walking towards the group of children.
The weasel-faced aide opened his mouth as he walked away, but ultimately could only close it in frustration.
"Children," Xie Wendong tried to make his voice sound kind and approachable, "I just heard you doing some calculations here."
"I wonder, what are you calculating?"
The little girl with the double buns and named Xiu'er looked up at him with her big, bright eyes and answered in a clear voice.
"Uncle, we're keeping track of my family's accounts!"
"My family runs a small eatery right next to the factory. We're always busy with customers, and the accounts are huge! I'm the one who helps my mom keep track of everything!" The girl patted her chest, quite proudly.
"Oh? The restaurant's ledger?" A glint of light flashed in Xie Wendong's eyes.
He calmly pressed on, "Then may this uncle of mine have the honor of seeing your account books, young friend?"
He wanted to see what was so magical about this so-called new algorithm that allowed a group of little kids to calculate so quickly.
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