APSIL -Chapter 116 Leave the Delinquents and the Princes to You

Repeated measurements were precisely the essence of modern experimental reproducibility.

After all, if a single experiment produced a result, perhaps it was merely the accumulation of various coincidences. But if repeated experiments all pointed toward the same conclusion, then the result could be confirmed.

Of course, the resources wasted during experiments were a major test of any laboratory’s funding.

For the current Ge Residence, however, the resources wasted were not much.

Human resources were basically not considered an issue in this era. Several mute servants seemed quite happy to show off their still-powerful muscles in front of the Emperor and the ministers.

As for the water overflowing each time, it all flowed through the wooden basin and bamboo pipes beneath the tank before returning to a nearby water vat.

In other words, there was almost no waste.

After ten repeated measurements, the results were clear.

Compared with pieces of the same-weight dark wood scraps, the Taizu inscription plaque indeed had a larger volume.

Moreover, Ge Yong stated that before this, he had already conducted experiments using remaining dark wood scraps from the imperial warehouse.

The results proved that pieces of the same weight had almost identical water displacement, with negligible differences.

In other words, the materials preserved from that batch all had nearly identical properties.

At this point, the decision ultimately rested entirely with the Emperor.

To prove whether the Taizu inscription plaque contained hidden documents, should they destroy this very plaque personally written by Emperor Taizu for the Nine Chapters Hall of the Imperial Academy and then carved by master craftsmen?

Facing the complicated gazes around him, the Emperor merely laughed.

Then he suddenly turned toward Zhang Shou.

“Zhang Shou, logically speaking, you can be considered my junior fellow disciple.”

“This time, thanks to you, we have uncovered quite a major mystery.”

“However, what I want to know is the result. I do not wish to destroy Emperor Taizu’s inscription plaque because of this.”

“When the Nine Chapters Hall is repaired, hang this plaque back up.”

Zhang Shou had already vaguely guessed this outcome beforehand.

Yet he still admired the Emperor’s decisiveness at a critical moment.

He immediately bowed and accepted the order.

But right afterward, the Emperor suddenly shifted to another topic.

“During today’s morning court, Prefect Wang of Shuntian Prefecture solved all thirteen secret letters exchanged between the traitor within the Ministry of War and Linhai Camp.”

“I heard that it was the result of you staying up all night with your students in the Shuntian Prefecture office?”

Zhang Shou immediately replied: “Your Majesty, I only deciphered one letter, not thirteen.”

“The other twelve were easily solved by Prefect Wang himself.”

“He simply lacked enough time. Otherwise, once he understood the principle behind the shift cipher, he would certainly have found the formula and deciphered the final letter himself.”

“There was no need for me and my three students to help.”

As he said this, Zhang Shou caught sight of several expressions around him.

Minister of War Lu Wan’s face had darkened.

Ge Yong’s face was full of pride, as if Zhang Shou’s achievement reflected upon himself.

Prefect Wang Jie remained calm and composed, clearly not becoming arrogant because of Zhang Shou’s praise.

As for the others—

They were obviously just here to watch the excitement.

Zhang Shou did not know exactly how Wang Jie had dominated the court that morning.

Therefore, he decided that rather than humbly hiding his achievements, he might as well show off a little.

After being insulted by ignorant people who called physics and mathematics “demonic sorcery,” he felt the need to defend the reputation of science.

“Someone who does not understand mathematics and tries to solve a shift cipher can only test characters one by one, stubbornly forcing their way through.”

“But because I have been influenced by my teacher, I understand how to infer another person’s calculation methods and how to use mathematical approaches to solve practical problems.”

“That is why I was able to think of a method to determine whether Emperor Taizu’s plaque was hollow, and uncover the secrets behind that final letter.”

The Emperor immediately smiled.

“I also think this is applying knowledge to practice.”

“Indeed, worthy of being my junior fellow disciple!”

While speaking, the Emperor happily stroked his beautiful little beard.

He completely ignored the helpless expression of Grand Secretary Kong, who was also serving as Minister of Rites, at seeing such an informal gesture.

Then the Emperor decisively added: “Speaking of which, that little fatty from the Lu family has been taught very well by you.”

“Last time at the Imperial Academy, his cleverness shocked me so much that I could hardly believe it.”

He glanced at Minister of War Lu Wan with obvious envy.

“Minister Lu, you truly have good fortune.”

“Teacher also told me that your little fatty has excellent talent. Unfortunately, Zhang Shou got to him first.”

“A prodigal son who returns is worth more than gold. And what about a prodigal son who becomes a genius?”

If the Emperor had been praising his eldest son or second son, Lu Wan would certainly have been delighted.

He would have been proud and honored.

But the person the Emperor deliberately mentioned before everyone was precisely his youngest son whom he had always looked down upon.

The proud Minister of War felt extremely uncomfortable.

Yet he could only force himself to respond awkwardly.

However, what the Emperor said next surprised him even more.

“Imperial Academy Chief Supervisor Zhou told me that restoring the Nine Chapters Hall to its former glory will require at least one month.”

“During this period, I do not want Zhang Shou to simply sit idle.”

“According to Zhou Qing, the students of Half-Mountain Hall in the Imperial Academy are all troublemakers.”

“They skip classes, neglect studies, and come and go as they please.”

“For example, Zhang Chen and the Lu family’s little fatty were once representatives of such students.”

“Since that is the case…”

“Half-Mountain Hall will be handed over to you.”

Zhang Shou froze.

The Emperor continued: “As an Imperial Academy Doctor, you will oversee both Nine Chapters Hall and Half-Mountain Hall.”

“Those students whom the Discipline Office cannot control—you will discipline them properly for me.”

“Some of them probably cannot even recite the Three Character Classic or Thousand Character Classic.”

“If they cannot recite them, fine.”

“But a group of ignorant people running around causing trouble?”

“That, I cannot tolerate!”

Zhang Shou immediately felt a headache coming.

Was he being treated as some kind of demon teacher specialized in dealing with delinquent teenagers?

He really did not have such abilities!

If Zhu Ying and Lu Sanlang had not exaggerated his reputation beforehand, things would never have reached this point.

Who could have imagined that Bamboo Forest Farmhouse would somehow become the prestigious Bamboo Forest Mathematics Academy?

Seeing Ge Yong desperately shaking his head at him, seemingly agreeing that he should reject this troublesome assignment, Zhang Shou immediately put on a bitter expression.

“Your Majesty, this minister truly does not possess such ability.”

“Previously, Discipline Office Supervisor Xu already said that even Zhang Chen and Lu Zhu were actually full of bad habits.”

“I had no choice but to promise them that their previous mistakes would be forgiven, and then punish them by making them copy books.”

“But those people at least shared hardships with me in the bamboo forest while resisting the rebels.”

“We have a bond forged through life and death.”

“However, the other students of Half-Mountain Hall are different.”

“This minister is merely an ordinary person. I cannot suppress so many rebellious students.”

“Therefore, I dare not accept such an important responsibility.”

“Doctor Zhang, why belittle yourself?”

The person who spoke was not the Emperor.

It was Prefect Wang Jie.

Yesterday Zhang Shou had given him a peach; today Wang Datou decisively returned the favor.

He said sincerely: “If Doctor Zhang can control Zhang Chen and Lu Zhu, then naturally he can control the others.”

“However, the relationship between teacher and student cannot compare with the bond between father and son.”

“Doctor Zhang is merely worried that if he becomes a strict teacher, he will attract resentment from their families.”

“Therefore, if His Majesty wishes to place such responsibility upon him, he must naturally grant him sufficient authority.”

“Otherwise, in the future, not only Doctor Zhang, but even Chief Supervisor Zhou of the Imperial Academy will be troubled endlessly.”

These words made Lu Wan’s expression become even more unnatural.

He was absolutely not angry because Zhang Shou was too strict with his fat son.

Rather—

He disliked that Zhang Shou had been too lenient and had elevated his son too highly!

Furthermore, if Zhang Shou could transform every spoiled young noble into a genius pillar of the country like Lu Zhu…

Would that not mean all fathers like them were simply incompetent?

That cunning Wang Datou!

It was bad enough that he had solved one more secret letter than their entire Ministry of War.

But he even advised the Emperor to grant Zhang Shou greater authority!

Thinking this, Lu Wan could only glance toward Kong University Scholar, hoping this cabinet elder would step forward and save the situation.

But unexpectedly—

The Grand Secretary was actually…spacing out.

He did not notice Lu Wan’s hopeful gaze at all.

And then an even more unexpected scene occurred.

Imperial Academy Chief Supervisor Zhou Xun stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, if you wish to hand Half-Mountain Hall to Doctor Zhang, and wish for those students who pretend to study but do not actually attend classes to return to the right path, then Doctor Zhang must indeed be granted greater authority.”

“Otherwise, does Your Majesty expect him to personally visit every noble household every day and drag back all those students who have taken sick leave, personal leave, mourning leave, and every other kind of leave?”

The Emperor raised his eyebrows.

Seeing Zhang Shou’s shocked expression, he suddenly turned toward Zhu Ying, who was already beaming with happiness.

He smiled.

“Little Yingying, look how happy you are.”

“What? You actually have so much confidence in your future husband that you want him to work himself to exhaustion managing those students who never even attend the Imperial Academy?”

“Of course!”

Zhu Ying nodded without hesitation.

Then she added: “My grandmother already said that she plans to hand my second brother over to A-Shou for discipline.”

“He is exactly the kind of person who needs someone to straighten him out!”

The Emperor gave an ambiguous laugh.

“Aunt really is…”

Then he casually said: “Very well.”

“I shall grant Zhang Shou a ruler.”

“Anyone who arrives late, skips class, or breaks the rules—he may beat their palms until they learn their lesson!”

“Speaking of which, the third and fourth princes have also reached the age to study.”

“Later, I shall send them together to Half-Mountain Hall.”

Even those who had previously supported Zhang Shou taking charge of Half-Mountain Hall froze instantly.

Their expressions became identical to everyone else’s.

Zhang Shou himself felt as if he had seen a ghost.

But when the Emperor turned toward him, he suddenly thought of something.

In this world, many familiar things still remained.

Yet there were also countless powerful and immovable things standing before him.

His heart became heavy.

“Your Majesty wishes for the third and fourth princes to learn the principles governing the world—the very things Minister Zhang of Revenue just called demonic sorcery?”

“Exactly!”

The Emperor clapped his hands and sighed.

“Emperor Taizu often lamented this.”

“He said that I was born capable of literature, and when slightly older, capable of martial arts.”

“Yet when it came to understanding the principles behind all things in the world, I only had a vague understanding.”

“I seemed to understand, but did not truly understand.”

“And when I needed to use that knowledge, it was already too late to regret.”

“My teacher taught the eldest and second princes before.”

“Now that he is older, he should enjoy his retirement.”

“So you help me train the third and fourth princes.”

Zhang Shou barely heard the second half.

Because the first half contained far too much information.

Could Emperor Taizu have been a liberal arts student?

Perhaps…

But it was more likely that this predecessor simply knew a little bit of everything.

Binary numbers.

Ancient maps of Beijing.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

As for mathematics and physics—

Perhaps because that predecessor had been away from formal education for too long, his memories of basic subjects were not especially clear.

That was actually a common problem among most people after graduation.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shou took a deep breath.

Then he bowed deeply once again.

“Since that is Your Majesty’s decree…”

“This minister accepts.”