Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 181 Bullshit!
Lu Sanlang was shown around by Zhang Shou as a perfect student, and his mind was blank. The only thing he could think of was the scene when Ge Yong proudly showed off Zhang Shou. Although he was confident in his talent, because Zhang Shou, his teacher, was about the same age as him, he never thought that Zhang Shou would one day become like Ge Yong.
So, when faced with the sudden questioning, Lu Sanlang's first reaction was, how could he become the melon sold by Zhang Shou?
Seeing Lu Sanlang was stunned for a moment, Zhang Shou calmly looked at the official Chen from the Ministry of Personnel and said, "If I remember correctly, the Earl of Weinan only entrusted it privately, and the students of Jiuzhang Hall calculated it day and night, and most of them didn't even step out of the Imperial College. Your Excellency is really well-informed."
Chen was not willing to be fooled. He sneered and said, "Dr. Zhang was not tight-lipped and leaked the information to the students in Banshan Hall. Those ignorant guys spread the news all over the world. And now they blame me for being well-informed?"
Zhang Shou nodded with a smile and said, "That's right. Chen Zhuzheng doesn't even take Lu Zhu, the talented Jiuzhang Hall Master, seriously. You naturally think that young children like the Third and Fourth Princes, and Zhang Chen, the Banshan Hall Master, who is just the only son of Duke Qin, are even more ignorant."
"I didn't say that!" Master Chen was almost mad at Zhang Shou's words, but then he noticed the subtle expressions of the people around him and complained inwardly. He habitually regarded Banshan Hall as a place for those dandy boys to spend their days, and the top nobles simply put up a name and didn't even show up, but he forgot that now because of the emperor's words, all the skipping students stayed there obediently!
He immediately changed his words and said, "Anyway, now everyone outside knows that Jiuzhangtang claims to be solving problems for the Military Equipment Bureau, and Dr. Zhang keeps talking about the various advantages of Minister Lu's son. He doesn't mean to say that you and him have no achievements, right?"
Zhang Shou stopped Lu Sanlang from speaking, and said with a sneer, "Excuse me, sir, do you know how many years the secret box in the Arms Bureau has been shelved?"
As soon as these words came out, Chen Zhushi, who had just suffered many setbacks, suddenly felt a pang in his heart. There is a disadvantage of being the first to jump out, that is, you have to bear the brunt of the thunder yourself!
As long as Zhang Shou is willing, he can bring out all the people who have failed in front of the secret box of the Arsenal. Then, even if he and his student Lu Sanlang really cannot solve it, wouldn't he, an outsider, be bringing in the predecessors as well by blaming them?
Seeing that Chen was in a dilemma, Minister Zhao cursed him as a loser, but finally decided to roll up his sleeves and do it himself: "Doctor Zhang, do you think that since your predecessors are helpless, it is natural that you, Lu Zhu, and the teachers and students of Jiuzhang Hall cannot solve it? It's a joke! Your predecessors, including Grand Tutor Ge, all came up step by step through the right path!"
Zhang Shou looked at Minister Zhao with a relaxed expression, as if he didn't understand, and smiled without saying a word.
Minister Zhao didn't care whether Zhang Shou was truly confident or just bluffing. He only knew that he was very angry and wanted to knock down this young man who stood there like a scenery and that fat guy Lu Zhu, and then step on them with ten thousand feet!
His voice was almost a roar: "Your predecessors all had their own duties, and it is impossible for them to spend . But your official position and your status are all due to the emperor's grace and favor. How can you not do your best and repay the emperor's kindness? You have plenty of time and energy, so you should work day and night!"
Facing this harsh and commanding speech, Zhang Shou laughed again and asked casually, "So, Minister Zhao thinks that a box in the Armory whose contents are unclear is more important than the Jiuzhang Hall that carries on the will of Emperor Taizu , and more important than the Banshan Hall that teaches the children of the nobility?"
"You are just making up a story!" Minister Zhao had seen through Zhang Shou completely. There was no doubt that this guy was just using the mission from the Military Equipment Bureau to promote Jiuzhangtang. It was impossible to solve the problem!
He swung his sleeves vigorously, showing the fierce momentum he had when he was an imperial censor. He turned around, bowed deeply to the emperor, and said righteously: "Your Majesty, Zhang Shou has repeatedly used empty words to confuse right and wrong. It is obvious that he is a fraud. He only achieved some small achievements by luck in the past. He is not worthy of being a teacher at all!"
He paused, then took out a trump card that he had prepared for many days and had been waiting for the opportunity: "The emperor previously appointed him as a lecturer in the Imperial Academy and Zuo Zanshan in the Ministry of Households for his merits. Now I beg the emperor to revoke these official positions if the facts prove that he is incapable of doing anything with the secret box! If you want to reward merits, there are plenty of official positions in the world. Why should you disappoint the scholars of the world!"
Hearing the sinister intentions of Minister Zhao, even though Lu Wan actually had no feelings for Zhang Shou at all, he had already asked someone to propose marriage to his fat son, and he had proposed this in front of the emperor, so there was no room for retreat.
He immediately stood up and said angrily: "Zhao Hanxuan, are you worthy enough to represent the scholars of the world? Dr. Zhang's position was earned by him taking risks, capturing traitors, working hard, and deciphering secret letters. But you know what you have done in your official career in the past 20 years! Don't forget that when you were the governor of Ningxia, you forced a part of Mongolia to rebel and almost disrupted the Hetao area!"
This was the first time that Lu Sanlang entered the palace today, the first time that he enjoyed his father's protection, the first time that he saw his father confront other high-ranking officials, and now it was the first time that he saw his father angrily bringing up old scores. Therefore, he only felt that today's court session was simply wonderful, but he couldn't help but feel a little regretful that he was protected from beginning to end and had no chance to speak.
But at this moment, he heard the sound of a chime, and then the Fengtian Hall, which had just been filled with roars and whispers, fell silent, followed by the emperor's lazy voice.
"Is that enough? I just asked you to discuss the matter of the Second Prince bullying the Liu family girl in the street, but you strayed from the topic and even brought up an old matter from who knows how many years ago! Lu Zhu, your teacher just said so many good things about you, now tell me, what do you think of what Zhao Qing, the Minister of War, said just now?"
Lu Sanlang was stunned at first, then overjoyed. He glanced at Minister Zhao with contempt, and then said bluntly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being blunt, but what he said is simply bullshit!"
Even though Lu Wan knew about Lu Sanlang's temper, he was shocked to see Lu Sanlang being so rude in front of the emperor. Zhang Shou even held his forehead with his hand, thinking that Lu Sanpang was Lu Sanpang, and no one could stop him when he relapsed!
Before Minister Zhao and other shocked officials could scold him, the emperor asked with interest, "What's so nonsense?"
"His son, who was praised as a talented scholar, can't even do the quick calculation of continuous addition and continuous multiplication. The three questions he submitted to the Shuntian government office were copied from others. But he still has the nerve to accuse my teacher of deceiving the world and stealing the reputation. It's so funny! Minister Zhao knows nothing about arithmetic. When the 14-ring text lock was placed in front of him, he could only stare blankly, but he was good at talking!"
Lu Sanlang is a man who sometimes acts like a slick and cunning fat man, and sometimes is easily moved and even does impulsive things, but most of the time, he is a real piece of tough guy.
So, after scolding Minister Zhao, he raised his neck and sneered at him, "If you can't unlock the box, you want me to take back the official positions that the emperor awarded to me for my meritorious service? What if I can unlock it? Should I give up your position as Minister of War to him?"
As he spoke, he suddenly glared at Master Chen with an extremely unfriendly look: "If we, teacher and student, can solve the problem, can Master Chen from the Ministry of Personnel also give his position to me, the head of the Jiuzhang Hall? Can he also give an official position to the other students in the Jiuzhang Hall who calculate day and night? It's easy to talk without any pain in the waist. Oh, no, if you are envious, jealous, or hateful, don't make excuses!"
Zhang Shou unconsciously recalled the interview day when Lu Sanlang said that if you are stupid, don't make excuses, and couldn't help but smile. And this smile finally succeeded in angering Chen Zhushi.
"You little brat, if you can solve that problem, I'll give you the position of Director of the Ministry of War!" Director Chen had made up his mind when he said this. Your father Lu Wan was fined for half a year and was serving as a criminal, and Zhang Shou's foundation is even more unstable. I don't believe that you can concentrate on doing your work while you are busy with your marriage!
Seeing Chen Zhushi and Lu Sanlang glaring at each other, the emperor suddenly sneered and said, "Very good, do you still want me to be a witness?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Kang, the Earl of Weinan, who was watching the excitement from the side, suddenly stepped out slowly and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to ask Your Majesty to be a witness. I met Lu Sanlang last night, and he said that the secret box can be unlocked."
Lu Wan was shocked. Just when he was about to say that Lu Sanlang must have sent the wrong message, he swallowed the words back. Last night, Lu Sanlang secretly took someone . No one knew where he went. After he came back, he and Zhang Shou had a fight until midnight. Could it be that it happened at that time?
"Oh?" The emperor's eyes lit up. "Are you serious?"
Zhang Shou looked at the dumbfounded Chen Zhushi and the gloomy Zhao Shilang, and said straightforwardly, "Could the Earl of Weinan please bring the box in?"
After all, Zhang Kang was once a favored nobleman during the reign of Emperor Ruizong. Although he could not bring a heavy box to court, he had already asked Chu Kuan, the official in charge of the Imperial Household Department, to do it. At this time, Chu Kuan personally brought the box in front of everyone and respectfully presented it to the emperor. The emperor took it and placed it on his knees, stroking the texture that he still remembered, and finally nodded with a smile.
"Zhang Qing is really quick at doing things."
"It should be said that the previous attempts of Weinan Earl were not in vain." Zhang Shou smiled, and then said sincerely, "After the calculation, I and other students including Lu Zhu did not actually try it on the box. So if there is any mistake, it is my fault, and has nothing to do with them."
"Okay!" The emperor nodded without even thinking, "Go ahead and tell me!"
Zhang Shou took a deep breath and then said word by word: "If the calculation is correct, the fourteen characters should be Qing, Jin, Ci, Ke, Wei, Lun, Li, Chen, Cai, Ling, Nian, Xi, Shang, Shu."
The emperor skillfully turned the dial of the fourteen-ring lock. When he turned the last word, "Shu", many high-ranking officials standing in the front row in the silent hall heard a slight click. Then, even those sitting at the back heard the emperor's laugh, followed by an unmistakable compliment: "Very good, the box is finally opened!"
