"Ahem, Your Royal Highness, you are not allowed to spy on others." Uncle Xie Fang was half annoyed and half helpless when he saw this guy was in trouble again.
Zhao Mengqi shrugged, "I've finished answering, please hand it over to the head office."
ah? How long did it take before you got the answer?
The officials were also surprised because the three test questions were posted at the same time. Even those who were proficient in calculations would need some time.
As the question maker, Ye Mengding was even more suspicious. The prototypes of these three questions were selected from various calculations. In order to prevent anyone from reading and calculating, the data were naturally changed. Even according to the standard algorithm, It takes a lot of time.
He walked over, looked down at Zhao Mengqi's paper, and then looked confused. The paper was full of ghost drawings that he couldn't understand, "Your Highness, what are you drawing, and where is the answer?"
Well, Zhao Mengqi finally realized that he was using mathematical symbols and calculations from later generations, and he was probably the only one in the Song Dynasty who could understand them.
"Hey, wait, some of these seem to be Tianzhu codes." Ye Mengding looked at it for a while and made some discoveries.
The so-called "Alapai numbers" were actually invented by Indians, but they are still very different from the writing methods popular in later generations. They were once spread to China along with Buddhist scriptures. In addition, the foreign trade of the Song Dynasty was developed, and merchants such as Dashi would also use similar numbers. , it’s not surprising that Ye Mengding could recognize him.
"I changed this based on the Tianzhu numbers for the convenience of writing. Teacher, please wait while I copy the answer."
Zhao Mengqi made up a lie casually, and then rewrote the answer in Chinese characters.
Ye Mengding was surprised again when he saw the correct answers written out one by one. At the same time, he was full of curiosity about the arithmetic symbols and methods used by his student.
However, it was not appropriate to continue exploring at the moment, so he suppressed his curiosity and desire for knowledge, put away the answer sheet written by Zhao Mengqi, and walked back silently without making a sound.
"Young Uncle, wait a minute." Zhao Menghao called out to him. Young Uncle was the euphemistic title of the Minister of Rites.
Ye Mengding stopped, turned around and asked doubtfully, "Xiao Langjun, what's the matter?"
"Can you give me a plan?" Zhao Mengqi asked with some uncertainty.
"Yes." Ye Mengding nodded.
"Young uncle, please give me a set." Zhao Mengguan also took the opportunity to request.
Ye Mengding also agreed and arranged for someone to deliver it to them.
Abacus is a small stick with the same specifications, used for counting and calculation. At this time, abacus was also very popular, but it was not perfect in multiplication and division. Today's topic involves Tianyuan technique, so using abacus is more intuitive.
Calculation has been the most advanced calculation method in the world for a long time. In fact, it does not necessarily require physical calculation. People who are proficient in calculation can also simulate calculation on paper, such as Zhao Heyun.
After having the calculation tools, Zhao Mengqi and Zhao Mengguan gradually solved the problems smoothly. However, Zhao Mengxi could only stare. Even if he was given calculation tools, he would not use them. He simply gave up the struggle. Anyway, even if he competed for first place, it would be useless. If you use it, at most it will make you look better.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, Zhao Heyun also signaled that he was done and was about to hand in the paper. Ye Mengding glanced at it and showed a satisfied expression.
Later, Zhao Mengzhao also finished the task slightly ahead of schedule, while Zhao Mengguan did not hesitate to write down an answer until the last moment, while Zhao Mengxi simply handed in the blank paper.
One advantage of the arithmetic test is that it does not require any comments and the answers are not controversial. You will know whether they are correct as soon as you put the questions into the calculation.
Ye Mengding finished correcting the papers one by one, and then handed them over to the three examiners for review. At the same time, the three censors also performed their supervisory duties, and finally handed them over to the Hanlin attendant for announcement.
"First announce the answers to three questions. The first question is, four big ships and five small boats. The second question is, the door is nine feet wide, the height is twelve feet, and the pole is fifteen feet long. The third question is, it takes ten thousand to make a pipe. There are another 375 bamboos, and 6225 bamboos are needed to make the set."
After listening to the answers, a small number of officials also figured it out themselves. Most of them checked the answer backwards and knew that the answer was correct.
Many people think that ancient officials only knew how to care. In fact, this is wrong. How can it be possible to manage a country without having to calculate a large amount of data.
"Zhao Mengxi's paper, no answer, graded three times."
All the officials chuckled. Zhao Mengxi was the worst today, and he only showed off his shooting skills.
Zhao Mengxi was ashamed, and Wu Yan, who had been trying to promote him, was also embarrassed. He was so embarrassed that he would inevitably be laughed at in the future.
"Zhao Heyun Juan, all three questions are correct, combined with the time, the rating is two above and one in the middle."
"Zhao Mengqi's paper, all three questions are correct, combined with the time taken, the rating is one above and two below."
"Zhao Meng passed the paper. The second question is wrong. Combined with the time taken, the score is two out of two and one out."
"Zhao Mengqijuan..." Liu Shidu also lengthened his voice at this time, as if he wanted to whet his appetite.
Today, the loyal king gave many officials a lot of surprises, but there were still many people who didn't believe that he could answer three difficult questions correctly in a moment. Tianyuan Technique was still relatively complicated for most people at this time.
"All three questions are correct! It takes less than one word, and the rating is three!" The 'word' here is the unit of time at this time, which is one-third of a quarter, about five minutes.
This result surprised even those who had some vague premonitions, let alone those who did not believe that Zhao Mengqi had this ability. There was another roar in the hall.
"Quiet! Start voting."
Given the obvious facts, the results of the vote were no surprise.
Zhao Mengqi, 20 votes, first place.
Zhao Heyun, 19 votes, second.
Zhao Mengqi, third with fifteen votes.
Zhao Mengguan, fourth with thirteen votes.
Zhao Mengxi, zero votes, fifth.
At this time, there are still people voting for Zhao Mengguan. It can only be said that Concubine Yan has invested a lot of money and promised these officials a lot of benefits.
Calculating the results of all six rounds of competition, Zhao Mengqi was eleven, Zhao Heyun was sixteen, Zhao Menghao was seventeen, Zhao Mengguan was seventeen, and Zhao Mengxi was twenty-six.
There is no doubt that the loyal king Zhao Mengqi won a great victory!
"It was the stupid king who actually won..." An official seemed to still not be able to believe the result.
"I heard that King Zhong is no longer stupid, but I still don't believe it. There are iron trees in the world, but I have never seen a real fool become enlightened!"
"Not only is he not stupid, he is also good at all six arts. Even if the two items of 'ritual' and 'book' need to be considered, the first place in the four items is clear."
"Prince Zhong is not yet fifteen, but he is so outstanding. Isn't he a genius sent from heaven? Even if we recruit all the young men in the Song Dynasty, no one may be able to surpass him."
"Hey, although there are other candidates of different ages, we all know that they are just foils. We were only looking at today, but we didn't expect that King Zhong would win."
"Then...we have worked hard and planned for so long, is it all in vain?"
