APSIL -Chapter 153 The Fourteen-Ring Cipher

Zhang Shou kept a calm expression, but inwardly, he was completely dumbfounded.

He knew perfectly well what the correct answer should have been just now: “You’re the prettiest.”

And truth be told, he had indeed grown increasingly fond of Zhu Ying’s lively, straightforward personality. He genuinely enjoyed being with her.

But saying something so embarrassingly sweet simply wasn’t his style.

So he had tossed the question back to her instead.

Yet Zhu Ying hadn’t answered, “Of course I’m the prettiest. Every other woman can stand aside.”

Instead, she’d answered: “You’re the prettiest.”

That…

That way of thinking… that way of speaking…

That was so incredibly Young Lady Zhu.

At that moment, not only Zhang Kang, Lu Sanlang, and Zhu Er stared in astonishment—even the Twelve Rain Maidens, each with her own distinct personality, were equally stunned.

But after only a brief pause, the dancers recovered first.

Qingyu, who had nearly been angered to death earlier by Zhang Shou’s “Curved Neck Raised Toward the Sky” remark, suddenly burst into laughter.

“Young Master Zhang truly is like the bright moon in the night sky, making stars like us appear dim by comparison.”

“Miss Zhu is truly fortunate to have such an outstanding fiancé, blessed by heaven itself.”

On the surface, it sounded like praise.

But beneath the compliment lurked unmistakable mockery.

Zhang Kang immediately frowned.

He inwardly cursed Qingyu for forgetting her place and courting disaster.

What he hadn’t expected…was that the first person to slam the table wasn’t Zhu Ying.

Nor was it Zhang Shou.

It was the person he’d practically ignored from the very beginning—

Zhu Er.

“So what if my future brother-in-law is the bright moon in the night sky?”

“If you’re talking about stars, then those stars should be the outstanding young talents of the capital—or even of the entire realm!”

“What right do you have to compare yourselves to him?”

He slapped the table so hard that cups and dishes bounced.

His voice rose sharply.

“And besides!”

“The reason he’s become who he is today is because my little sister recognized his talent!”

“He’s the lucky one!”

Lu Sanlang immediately grinned.

Not bad!

Zhu Er’s performance today was unexpectedly brilliant.

He’d praised Zhang Shou…

Then praised Zhu Ying…

That was the highest level Zhu Er had ever displayed.

The other Rain Maidens hurriedly pulled Qingyu behind them.

All twelve beauties immediately knelt and apologized in unison.

Lu Sanlang chuckled.

“The dance deserves to be called the Dance of Heavenly Demons.”

“The music is delightfully intoxicating.”

“Very good.”

“Keep up the effort.”

“Do better next time.”

He never explained what they were supposed to improve.

Seeing Zhang Kang make a gesture, the thoroughly frightened Wan Yuanbao quickly ushered both the musicians and the dancers out.

He looked ready to explain himself, but Lu Sanlang simply stood up and shooed him away as well.

Only after everyone had left did he leisurely close the door.

Turning back toward Zhang Kang, he smiled.

“Marquis, we’ve known each other for years.”

“So I’ll stop being polite and call you Uncle Zhang.”

“We’ve seen the Twelve Rain Maidens.”

“You insisted I drag Little Teacher here tonight.”

“So whatever it is, just say it.”

“If you’re worried about unnecessary people overhearing…”

“I’ll take Zhu Er away.”

“As for Miss Zhu…”

“You can deal with her yourself.”

“Fair enough?”

Without waiting for a reply, Lu Sanlang grabbed Zhu Er and dragged him outside.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhu Ying lowered her head and spoke softly to Zhang Shou.

“I’ll wait outside.”

“If anything happens, just call me.”

With that, she also left.

Once the door closed…

Zhang Kang finally laughed.

“Doctor Zhang’s reputation has only spread for a matter of days.”

“And yet, just among the three people sitting here tonight, every one of them has already been won over by you.”

“You’ve left countless so-called talented young gentlemen eating your dust.”

“Very well.”

“That little fatty from the Lu family is right.”

“If I keep beating around the bush, I’d only be making a fool of myself.”

“I’d like to show you something.”

Zhang Shou had assumed Zhang Kang intended to produce another coded letter.

Instead…

The Marquis walked to a cabinet in the corner.

He removed a small wooden box.

Setting it before Zhang Shou, he casually opened the lid.

Inside…was an astonishing array of densely packed rotating rings.

At first glance, Zhang Shou noticed something immediately.

The combination locks on suitcases from his previous life usually had three wheels.

Five at most.

But this lock…had fourteen.

When Zhang Kang rotated one of the rings to demonstrate…

Zhang Shou noticed another difference.

Instead of numbers…

Each position contained characters.

As the ring clicked from position to position…he realized every section displayed four Chinese characters.

An idea immediately formed.

Smiling, he asked, “You’re not asking me to unlock this, are you?”

“May I ask whether you’ve already had others try?”

“Of course.”

Zhang Kang nodded seriously.

“I invited the finest locksmiths.”

“But after learning that the mechanism had been designed during the founding of the dynasty by Korean craftsmen who crossed the seas to study here—combining their own skills with earlier techniques—and that it contained a self-destruct mechanism…”

“…none of them dared force it open.”

“I also had people work around the clock trying countless combinations.”

“They all failed.”

“Because they couldn’t assemble any of the known poems.”

“My lord…”

“Trying every possible arrangement by brute force simply isn’t practical.”

“Although this lock uses characters instead of digits zero through nine, reducing the total number of possible keys…”

“…each ring still has four possibilities.”

“Fourteen rings means…”

He paused briefly.

“268,435,456 possible combinations.”

Zhang Shou couldn’t help feeling nostalgic.

A typical three-digit suitcase lock meant:

10 × 10 × 10.

One thousand combinations.

This fourteen-ring character lock…

was 4¹⁴.

Although that was far fewer than a fourteen-digit numeric lock—with its 10¹⁴ possibilities…it was still enough to make anyone despair.

Simply put…

Suppose someone could test sixty combinations every minute.

Working twenty-four hours a day without rest…

It would still take over three thousand days—

Nearly ten years—

To try them all.

And that assumed a perfectly steady pace of one attempt every second.

Which was pure fantasy.

One might as well pray for divine luck instead.

Hearing Zhang Shou casually recite such an enormous number, Zhang Kang was deeply impressed.

Although Zhang Shou’s conclusion matched everyone else’s—that there was no easy solution—

At least he’d supported it with concrete mathematics.

After a long silence, Zhang Kang spoke quietly.

“Inside this box…”

“…is a blueprint preserved by the Bureau of Military Works.”

“It is said to have originated with the Founding Emperor himself.”

Seeing genuine surprise appear on Zhang Shou’s face, he continued.

“During the unrest at the beginning of Emperor Ruizong’s reign…”

“…the written key for opening the box was lost.”

“Since then…”

“…it has remained sealed.”

“Every generation has tried.”

“But fortune has favored none of them.”

“Even Grand Tutor Ge and the others attempted it.”

“They all failed.”

“In truth…”

“I brought this to you today entirely on my own initiative.”

“No one else knows.”

“It isn’t an imperial order.”

“So don’t burden yourself.”

“I only hope you’ll study it and tell me whether opening it is even possible.”

Seeing Zhang Shou remain silent, Zhang Kang sighed.

“Actually…”

“If word hadn’t spread about how you deciphered that coded message…”

“…I would never have thought of asking you.”

“I happened to examine the characters on these rings…”

“…and realized they all come from the Thousand Character Classic.”

“I decided to treat a dead horse as though it were still alive.”

Only upon hearing Thousand Character Classic did Zhang Shou finally ask, “Besides the fact that all fourteen characters come from the Thousand Character Classic…”

“…are there any other clues?”

“Other clues…”

Zhang Kang thought for a moment.

“The code itself…”

“…is said to have been personally created by the Founding Emperor.”

Zhang Shou’s first thought was the plaque hanging above Jiuzhang Hall at the Imperial Academy—the one rumored to be hollow.

Not because he suspected it concealed secret edicts or the password to this box.

Rather…

He had gradually realized something.

That brilliant Founding Emperor—

Though a peerless ruler—

Could also be surprisingly sentimental…

Even whimsical.

He genuinely enjoyed devising little puzzles like these.

After pondering for a while, Zhang Shou answered honestly.

“To be frank…”

“Based only on what you’ve told me…”

“I’m not optimistic.”

“I understand you can’t simply hand this box over to me.”

“So instead…”

“Give me a written copy of the four characters appearing on each ring.”

Zhang Kang immediately smiled and agreed.

Zhang Shou couldn’t help finding it amusing.

Without realizing it…

He seemed to have become both a mathematician and a cryptographer.

Taking advantage of the moment, he made his own request.

“But I have one condition.”

Before Zhang Kang could either agree or refuse, Zhang Shou continued calmly.

“I’d like to see some maps.”

“Not just a map of the Great Ming.”

“I mean…”

“A map of the entire world.”

“I’ve heard Eunuch Chu, Zhu Ying, and Lu Sanlang all say that our fleets once sailed to the lands in the far west.”

“If that’s true…”

“There must be maps—perhaps sea charts.”

“I’d like to see just how large the world really is.”

Zhang Kang had expected a far more demanding condition.

Instead, he froze.

After a long pause, he carefully replied, “I can authorize you to view the imperial map of our realm.”

“But a map of the entire world…”

“…is another matter.”

Smiling, Zhang Shou interrupted him.

“I only want to look at it once.”

“To satisfy my curiosity.”

“I don’t need to borrow it for study.”

Faced with such a modest request, Zhang Kang hesitated briefly before nodding.

“Very well.”

“The Bureau of Military Works has always kept maps from throughout the empire.”

“If you wish to see them…”

“I can take you tomorrow.”

Since Zhang Shou’s request was so reasonable…

Any further bargaining would have been shameless.

“Then I thank Your Lordship.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“If I discover nothing…”

“I’ll let you know as soon as possible.”

Zhang Shou smiled.

He did find codebreaking somewhat interesting.

But he wasn’t particularly confident.

This request, however…was something he’d intended to make all along.

Ever since both Chu Kuan and Ge Yong had separately mentioned certain matters…

A question had taken root in his mind.

The imperial treasure fleets had sailed the seas for many years.

From everything he’d heard…

They had even reached Europe.

And their assessment had been that the western nations were merely arrogant little kingdoms.

But…

By this era…

The Ottoman Empire should already exist.

Not only that—

It should have been one of the world’s greatest powers.

Indeed, it was Ottoman control of eastern trade routes that later forced Europeans to search for sea routes around Africa…

Eventually leading to the accidental discovery of the Americas.

So…

How could the Great Ming fleets possibly have regarded the Ottoman Empire as just another insignificant little state?