Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 110: Extremely Urgent
Zhang Shou had seen sedan chairs many times in various TV dramas and scenic spots, but he had traveled a lot in this huge imperial capital during his two visits to Beijing, but he had hardly seen a sedan chair. So, when the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture rushed him out of the Duke of Zhao's mansion as if he was asking for his life, and heard that a sedan chair was sent to pick him up, he was really curious.
But when he got to the door, he suddenly realized. It was a sedan, because the huge sedan was carried high by two sturdy mules. It was a sedan! And next to the sedan, there was a person standing there awkwardly. Who else could it be but Deng Xiaodai?
"Young sir." Deng Xiaodai finally took a few steps forward to greet Zhang Shou, and then whispered, "I have no choice. The prefect has ordered me to come. He has been very angry these days and has spoken less and less. His face is as cold as ice. No one dares to make him angry, for fear that his knife-like eyes will slash at you."
What else could Zhang Shou say? Even the old lady, who was so thorough and sometimes even daring, had to send him to the Chuihua Gate, and even ordered people to deceive and delay Zhu Ying. This showed how strong this Wang Datou, as mentioned by his teacher Ge Yong, was. Therefore, he could only sigh helplessly and said, "Let's not talk nonsense anymore. Since it's urgent, let's go!"
The sedan chair was very high, so one had to use a special staircase to get up. After entering, Zhang Shou realized that it was very spacious. Besides, since it was powered by animals, he didn't want Deng Xiaodai to walk with the sedan chair, so he simply asked him to get on the sedan chair with him. The two of them sat opposite each other. Perhaps because they had been silent for a long time, Deng Xiaodai felt a little itchy in his throat, so he had to make small talk.
"Young sir, when Emperor Taizu ascended the throne, he thought that human-powered sedan chairs were a waste, so he ordered iron signs to be erected in all cities and towns across the country, prohibiting officials of all ranks from riding in human-powered sedan chairs. Only the elderly over seventy and those with mobility problems could hire a bamboo sedan chair carried by two people. However, because horse-drawn carriages were bumpy, more comfortable sedan chairs came into being."
Zhang Shou could clearly feel that as the mule moved forward, the sedan chair trembled slightly, but compared to the bumps of the carriage on the ground, this vibration was completely within the acceptable range. He leaned his right hand on the small square table in front of him and suddenly asked, "Then this sedan chair should only be used by people of certain grades, right? Otherwise, I wouldn't have seen so many of them since I came to Beijing."
"Yes, the Emperor Taizu stipulated that only officials above the third rank in the capital could have one, but they could lend it to family members and friends. After all, a sedan chair is so high that you have to use a wooden ladder to get up and down. It is impossible for the elderly over seventy or people with mobility problems to ride it."
"Taizu often said, don't think that there are too many people in the world, so don't use too much manpower. The world is vast, and there are many places that need manpower. Don't waste it. An animal can grow up in a few years, but it takes 20 years for a person to reach adulthood. Don't treat people like animals."
Although he had heard many stories about Emperor Taizu, when hearing this decree, Zhang Shou unconsciously saw the image of an intellectual and somewhat sentimental man. After conquering the world and establishing his capital in Dadu, he was able to cherish human resources in this way, which really made him a meticulous monarch, not to mention his attitude of attaching importance to education.
No wonder that even today, the knowledgeable people he met, even Zhu Ying, whenever they talked about Taizu, they all reminisced and wished they could have been born in the same generation as him.
Deng Xiaodai paused for a moment, then whispered, "Young sir, this is what the prefect told me. Although I am still in the household office, the prefect often transfers me over to do some calculations. My uncle was so happy that he almost went crazy, but I was really nervous. Other people who originally looked down on me have been saying weird things or flattering me recently, and I..."
Deng Xiaodai talked about his worries and his anxieties in a long-winded way, while Zhang Shou sat there quietly, just listening without saying anything. He didn't know how much time had passed. When he got off the sedan chair and landed steadily behind Deng Xiaodai, he finally answered: "When you get a great opportunity, you must bear the corresponding kindness and malice. You'll get used to it."
He did not expect Deng Xiaodai, who was too young and inexperienced, to understand such words, but he believed that his uncle, who was worldly-wise and with whom he lived every day, could understand a little. As for whether he would give him the wrong advice, he was not very worried. After all, he was in the capital, not in Rongshui Village, which was dozens of miles away.
During the day, he looked down from the Zhigong Building opposite. At this time in the evening, Zhang Shou was invited by the Shuntian Prefecture Governor to enter the Shuntian Prefecture Office. He thought it was a bit strange. A man who looked like a legal advisor met him at the door, and then led the way with a smile on his face, leading him to the third hall on the central axis, and then turned around.
"Doctor Zhang, the prefect has asked you to come here to verify the secret correspondence between the rebels in the Linhai Camp and the traitors in the Ministry of War."
When Zhang Shou had speculated before, he also thought it was because of this matter. Otherwise, how could a prefect actually say that he would take care of his food, drink sleep?
He was about to speak when the lawyer smiled again and said, "Dr. Zhang's students, Mr. Qi and Mr. Lu, were also urgently invited by the prefect. With you and Xiao Deng, we have all the people."
Even Lu Sanlang was brought here?
Zhang Shou turned around and saw Deng Xiaodai was also dumbfounded. He couldn't help but feel that Wang Fuyin's spirit of preferring to kill the wrong person rather than let him go was really "admirable". So, he had nothing to say and could only shake his head and move forward. When he arrived outside the third hall, he heard Lu Sanlang's full-bodied voice.
"Sir, you have invited the right person! My father ignored the true Buddha and went around looking for another master, and finally ran into my young master. When I sent the note last night, the young master pondered for a long time before he revealed the key..."
Lu Sanlang, please stop bragging, okay? If these secret letters are really all binary coded, and then converted to decimal, and then a Thousand Character Classic can solve the problem, he has already revealed the key point, so why did the Shuntian prefecture governor invite me?
Zhang Shou wanted to lament three times for being careless in accepting a disciple, so he could only speed up his pace. When he arrived in front of the third hall, he coughed heavily and was about to reach out to push the door. But then, the door was pulled open and Lu Sanlang rushed out.
"Little sir, you are here! Hurry up, we must hurry and not fall behind my father!"
Zhang Shou didn't bother to pay attention to Lu Sanlang's courtesy and went straight into the third hall. He saw a tall and thin middle-aged man in his forties or fifties sitting in the main seat. When he saw him come in, he stood up to greet him, but his expression seemed a bit rigid. He could roughly guess from the descriptions of Deng Xiaodai and Ge Yong that the other party's personality was always like this, so he stepped forward and bowed.
"Doctor Zhang, I won't gossip anymore." Wang Jie, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, who was called Wang Datou by Ge Yong, did have a big face that was slightly disproportionate to his body. He went straight to the point and said, "Mr. Chu sent someone to pass on a message to me at noon, so now there are thirteen secret letters, twelve of which I have deciphered, and they are conveying the details of the private visit of Academician Kong to Linhai Camp."
"Among them, there was a letter that mentioned a specific date and time. The Bing day should have been counted as the Jia day. It was because of this letter that some rebels in the camp mistook it for Academician Kong when the military officer went there two days earlier. They launched the attack prematurely and failed at the last moment."
"However, there is still one letter that has not been deciphered, and I must report all the details to the emperor at the court tomorrow morning, so I have no choice but to invite you and the students here. You should know that when I tried this case, I signed a military order to the emperor. If I cannot decipher the mystery of these secret letters while the criminals confess their crimes one by one, I will have to retake the Shuntian Prefecture Examination this time."
Zhang Shou's face was filled with disbelief. The military order was issued to try the case, but the stakes were actually the re-examination of Shuntian Prefecture?
However, what Wang Jie said next made him feel moved.
"If it weren't for the lack of math experts for many years, many court officials would have been embarrassed by tax figures, let alone understanding these secret letters. How could it be shown that I really needed to add a math question to the Shuntian Prefecture exam? Doctor Zhang, as long as you can solve it, I, the Shuntian Prefecture governor, will do my best to help you recruit students for the Imperial College's Jiuzhang Hall this time!"
Although he was not sure, Zhang Shou hesitated for a moment and finally agreed: "Encryption is easy, but decryption is difficult. I just happened to have the same idea as the person who made the ciphertext. Now I can only do my best and leave the rest to fate. After all, one night is not enough."
Although encryption cannot be too difficult these days, there are no computers or a lot of decryption software now!
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Wang Jie say with finality: "Okay, it's settled!"
