Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 171 Easy as pie
As soon as Lu Sanlang came back, he drove Zhang Chen away. He was very happy at first, but when he found that he had solved the first seven words, but the last seven words were all wrong after trying all the verses, and they did not match the sixty-four sets of numbers provided by Zhang Shouhou at all, he was immediately furious and understood why Zhang Chen left so happily.
It seems that this guy ran away when he found out that the situation was hopeless!
He still didn't give up, and checked the calculation results of several people one by one. But when he was checking the calculation, he heard Qi Liang whispered that the young master was here. At this moment, his back stiffened slightly, and the ambition he had just rushed back turned into a feeling of bitterness. He turned back carefully and saw Zhang Shou had already started to take the verification manuscript from others to check it, so he hurried over.
"Teacher, maybe it's because Weinan Bo and his men haven't collected all of them, or maybe they haven't given us all of them. I might as well go to the Arms Bureau again!"
Seeing Zhang Shou waving his hands, Lu Sanlang didn't know whether Zhang Shou was unwilling, or had other ideas, or... Zhang Chen, the shameless one, was trying to sow discord between them. So he made up his mind and said humbly: "There are only seven rings left anyway, so why not ask Weinan Bo to bring the box over? We can try them one by one, it shouldn't be too complicated..."
"The seven-ring text lock has 16,384 possible combinations. Furthermore, the first seven characters may have passed the verification, but there is no guarantee that they are correct. In other words, you may still fail after trying 16,384 times. In this case, there is no need to try anymore."
At this point, Zhang Shou glanced at Lu Sanlang and saw that he looked frustrated. Many of the students in the four seats were also clearly discouraged. He smiled and said, "You have all done a great job. In just half a day, you have solved half of a problem that others have not solved for decades. Why are you so sad? As for the other half, I have no idea. That is not my fault."
He flicked the manuscript lightly, and thoughts raced through his mind. The phrase "Xuan Fu is still afraid of the young" happened to match the words on the first seven rings after it was shifted. It should not be a coincidence, and the idea should be correct.
According to the previous practice, the function should be increased to cubic or even quartic, but in this case, the number of four-digit combinations that the cubic function needs to try and error is not 64, but 256. The number of five-digit combinations that the quartic function needs to verify will reach 1024, which is a long-term repetitive work and completely meaningless.
Since he came into contact with ciphertext in these years, he had never seen an encryption method as complicated as that.
So, there is no need to think too complicatedly, why not think about it from a simpler perspective...
Zhang Shou looked at the papers in his hand, tapping his fingers unconsciously on the table, his mind working rapidly. He always believed that when the mind is operating at the highest speed, if it is a computer, it will freeze, but if it is a human brain, then a very wonderful phenomenon will occur, commonly known as a flash of inspiration.
As he was thinking about it, he suddenly had a very bold idea, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
In the east warm room of the Qianqing Palace, when the emperor received the report from the third and fourth princes, he couldn't help laughing. He was not like these two young sons, who thought everything was so naive and simple.
After sending his two sons away, he stroked his beard with interest, and finally turned his head to look at Chu Kuan and said, "My mother and some people seem to be dissatisfied with my promotion of Zhang Shou? In this case, let's spread the news and let people know that Zhang Shou is trying to open the box in the Military Equipment Bureau that has troubled everyone for many years."
Chu Kuan was shocked and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, the Grand Secretary Zhou of the Imperial College had previously banned it, so this matter was not known to many people outside except those in the Imperial College..."
"Not many? If not many people knew about it, why would there be so many people watching? Would those imperial censors be rubbing their hands, waiting to give Zhang Shou a heavy blow, and by the way, give me a slap in the face? Do you think I really don't know anything?"
The emperor saw that Chu Kuan dared not say anything, so he said calmly: "I have been patient for a long time. Ever since the initial defeat in Zhujing, there have been evil spirits everywhere in the court. Do you really think that I have cultivated myself over the years? The news of Zhujing's successive victories was sent by the Ministry of War, but few people in the public have heard of it. Compared with the rumors that were rampant before, it is simply a joke."
"Go and ask Ah Liu, who is beside Zhang Shou, quietly. If he says that Zhang Shou can definitely figure it out, then spread the word that he can't figure it out, and then incite those impatient guys to come out and make trouble."
Chu Kuan was sure that the emperor was determined, so he dared not dissuade him anymore and could only bow and agree. But just as he was quietly walking out, he was suddenly stopped by the emperor.
"The position of Minister of Revenue has been vacant for a while, but the list of candidates recommended by the imperial court has not been sent to me yet. Go and urge them to do something . If I remember correctly, Mr. Ge's student, Chen Shang, the Minister of Revenue who was in mourning, should be the one with the most experience."
The emperor almost said that Chen Shang was the most suitable person to be the Minister of Revenue, and Chu Kuan naturally understood what he meant. He agreed and immediately left the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The selection of the Minister of Revenue was a big deal, but he knew there was no suspense, so he just sent an attendant to ask the cabinet, and he decided .
You know, he had thought of Zhang Shou when he saw the Taizu documents in the Ancient and Modern Collection. Now it seems that he should have made it clearer! Of course, he didn't want to invite criticism, so he followed the emperor's instructions and went to find Ah Liu who broke into the outer court of the Silijian last time!
It was not until the evening of that day that Zhang Shou learned from Ah Liu that Chu Kuan had come to inquire about the progress. He raised his eyebrows and immediately asked, "How did you respond to that eunuch Chu?"
Ah Liu looked at Zhang Shou with a puzzled look in his eyes, and then said as a matter of course: "It's a piece of cake."
Even though he had guessed this answer, Zhang Shou was still furious: "Why don't you at least ask me before making a decision? What if you talk nonsense like this and kill me?"
"After he asked me, I sneaked to Jiuzhang Hall to find you." Ah Liu's mouth curled up in a very inconspicuous arc, "I saw you smiling, so I went back and told him."
Zhang Shou was speechless. The students in Jiuzhang Hall all thought that he was forcing himself to comfort everyone, Lu Sanlang and Qi Liang thought so too, but Ah Liu actually thought that his smile was genuine... Could this kid read minds?
He sighed deeply and was about to signal Ah Liu to come closer, planning to launch a surprise attack and tell the boy to behave himself, but then he heard someone knocking on his cell, and then Ah Liu appeared in front of the door as if he had teleported and opened it. Then he saw Zhu Ying flash in.
"Ah Shou, where is Lu Sanlang? Why isn't he in the dormitory?"
Zhang Shou was slightly stunned, then smiled and said, "Yingying, you came to me to look for him, aren't you afraid that I will misunderstand you?"
As soon as he said this, he realized that his speech was wrong. If the irresistible feeling had made him hug Zhu Ying, hold her hand, and say caring and intimate words, then the joke that came out of his mouth at this moment seemed reasonable.
When he spoke just now, was he just joking, or... did he bring out a hint of dissatisfaction that he himself didn't even realize?
Zhu Ying was also stunned for a moment, and then, her delicate eyebrows and eyes, which were flawless, could not help but bend, and her face was full of joyful smiles. So, could the god-like Ah Shou also get jealous? That feeling was really good. She blinked her eyes gently at the moment: "I went to him because it was extremely urgent and I needed him to save the situation! Who said you can't do this?"
What situation can Lu Sanlang save?
Zhang Shou finally came to his senses, but found Zhu Ying's statement incredible.
The next moment, Zhu Ying said with a smile: "However, since you can't do it, I also want to drag you to join in the fun. I heard that you have been entangled in that project these days and you are dizzy. It would be good to go out and relax!"
Zhang Shou tapped his forehead lightly at this time, and smiled with relief: "That guy should be fighting in the night with candles in Jiuzhang Hall. By the way, Jiuzhang Hall can't even afford candles, so he bought three candles for everyone else at his own expense. I told him it would hurt his eyes, but I couldn't stop him."
"I didn't realize that Lu Sanlang still had some perseverance... But now is not the time to work hard!"
At this point, Zhu Ying stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Shou and walked out without saying anything, saying, "The lifelong event of two people, plus it involves an extremely annoying guy, is much more important than unlocking that secret box. Besides, those rumors that are spreading wildly outside, saying that you can't unlock that thing at all, may have been instigated by that guy..."
Zhang Shou was about to say that this was the Imperial College, but fortunately Zhu Ying let go of him after they left. On his way to Jiuzhang Hall, he learned from Zhu Ying that some rumors about him being too ambitious, trying to force things to happen, and even seeking fame and reputation, and being mysterious, were spreading wildly. In the evening, they had already spread among officials and their families.
"So you think someone is deliberately stirring up trouble and fanning the flames?"
"Otherwise, how could it have spread so widely if you and the Earl of Weinan hadn't spread the news everywhere? When I was checking the accounts, Liu Qing came to see me, and even she, a rich girl, heard about it!" Zhu Ying cursed angrily, then realized that she had missed a name, and coughed and said, "That's the girl who is quite interested in Lu Sanlang, the youngest daughter of Minister Liu of the Ministry of Works."
She paused, then snorted softly, "She is also discussing marriage. Originally, it was her parents' orders and the matchmaker's words, so she naturally trusted her own parents. However, her father is a good man, but her mother is greedy for wealth and fame. The Ministry of Rites is currently selecting concubines for the two princes, and her mother is plotting in the middle. She is very scared. If it weren't for this, even if she was curious about Lu Sanlang, she wouldn't be so anxious."
