APSIL -Chapter 168 The Acting Class Leader in Charge of the Project

If Lu Sanlang had awakened his talent for mathematics in Cuiyun, transforming from a carefree young noble into a genius praised even by the emperor, then Zhang Chen’s days living in the mountains had been nothing short of torture—a period he would rather never recall.

And after he had followed the crowd and sat in on a lesson at Jiuzhang Hall once, he became even more certain of one conclusion:

Mathematics was simply incompatible with him!

At this moment, when Zhang Chen entered Jiuzhang Hall with a stiff expression, he had already prepared himself to be mocked by those students from humble backgrounds.

He had heard that ever since Lu Sanlang became the class leader, he had constantly faced challenges both openly and secretly, only finally managing to secure his position after proving himself.

Now, as the class leader of Banshan Hall, he suddenly appeared here. Even with Zhang Shou’s orders, how could those people not stare at him?

However, after entering the room, he discovered something completely unexpected.

No one even raised their head.

Nobody paid attention to this uninvited guest.

Everyone was completely absorbed in their work, their heads lowered as they wrote.

Some were moving abacuses.

Some were counting on their fingers.

Some were muttering calculations under their breath.

The quiet scene before him, when compared with the usual noisy and lazy atmosphere of Banshan Hall after class, actually felt somewhat glaring.

He subconsciously cleared his throat.

Yet even then, no one looked up.

Being ignored finally became unbearable.

He walked over to a student sitting in the first row, intending to see what they were writing.

But when he saw the paper, he immediately felt his scalp go numb.

The page was filled with strange symbols he could not understand, along with long strings of dense numbers.

The first person was like this.

The second, third, and fourth were exactly the same.

After circling around the entire room and inspecting more than twenty people, Zhang Chen still had no idea what method they were using to crack the fourteen-ring text lock.

But his head was beginning to ache.

He rubbed his temples lightly, his mood becoming strangely complicated.

He was not interested in the Four Books and Five Classics.

He did not seem talented at mathematics either.

Compared with his grandfather, who possessed extraordinary strategic wisdom, he could not compare.

Compared with his father, who devoted himself wholeheartedly to studying, he also fell short.

Could it be that in the future, he would simply become a Qin Duke who ate and waited for death?

At that moment, he suddenly remembered something Zhang Shou had once said to the traitor Ding Hai.

That he had too much sense of justice.

And just moments ago, Zhang Shou had said that he possessed leadership potential.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chen could not help but feel slightly embarrassed.

Since he realized he probably could not help much, Zhang Chen simply found an empty seat at the back and sat down.

His eyes swept across the impoverished students in front of him.

Among noble families, there were naturally talented individuals as well.

Some entered official positions through hereditary privilege.

Others through the imperial examinations.

Many had already established themselves in court.

Among them, children of officials were generally stronger than descendants of military nobles.

For example, Lu Sanlang’s two elder brothers.

Regardless of their character, their academic abilities were unquestionable.

One was only thirty years old and had ranked on the imperial examination list last year.

The other was said to be a major favorite for next year’s provincial examination.

Compared with them, as long as someone from a prestigious family showed even a little talent, they had countless opportunities.

But for children from poor families…

If they excelled in literature, they could still pursue the imperial examinations.

But if they only specialized in mathematics…

Perhaps Jiuzhang Hall was their final hope.

While Zhang Chen was lost in thought, he suddenly heard an excited shout.

“Those first three characters match the thirty-fourth group of numbers among the sixty-four groups!”

In an instant, everyone who had been buried in calculations raised their heads.

Zhang Chen also instinctively turned toward the voice.

The person who shouted was a middle-aged student.

His face was weathered, almost making it impossible to determine his age at first glance.

He could have been thirty.

He could have been forty.

Even fifty or sixty would not have seemed impossible.

Zhang Chen did not understand the exact calculation method.

But he knew Zhang Shou’s personality.

Unless there was an examination, Zhang Shou would never casually interrupt his own class to come here.

Therefore, after his initial surprise, the experience he had gained while staying in Cuiyun Studio allowed him to immediately make a decision.

“Give the sentence you believe matches to the others. Let them verify it first.”

He was not the class leader of Jiuzhang Hall.

Normally, his words should not have carried much authority.

Yet what surprised him was that nobody questioned whether he had the right to give orders.

The middle-aged student hesitated briefly, then sat down and quickly wrote something on a piece of paper.

That paper was immediately passed among the twenty-plus students.

Soon, the room became quiet again.

Zhang Chen hesitated.

Should he stay here?

Or should he return to Banshan Hall and report to Zhang Shou?

After thinking for a long time, he ultimately chose not to move.

He wanted to see what exactly was happening.

Whether mathematics was truly as powerful as people claimed.

Whether these students were really capable of solving the fourteen-ring text lock that had left countless people helpless.

However, based on what they had just said…

Perhaps they could only solve the first seven rings?

Zhang Chen did not have to wait long.

In fact, he felt that barely any time had passed.

The middle-aged student who had first shouted—and who had also supported his suggestion—suddenly stood up.

He walked over and respectfully handed him a sheet of paper.

After this beginning, more and more students stood up and came before him, handing him papers filled with calculations.

Zhang Chen could not understand most of the formulas.

But the first line written on every paper was something he recognized.

It was a famous line from Li Bai’s “To Li Yong”:

“Even Confucius respected the younger generation.”

Of course, the following line—

“A true man should never underestimate youth”

was even more famous.

But it was not written on the paper.

Zhang Chen did not have time to think deeply.

He immediately said: “Everyone wait here. I will report this to Teacher.”

After he left, the previously silent Jiuzhang Hall finally became noisy.

The middle-aged student, Yan Fang, who felt relieved, rubbed his aching forehead.

Suddenly, he said: “Could he take our work and pretend it was his own achievement?”

The moment those words left his mouth, someone beside him laughed.

“Brother Yan, fortunately you did not say that in front of him. Otherwise, the eldest son of Duke Qin would drown you with his saliva.”

“That is the class leader of Banshan Hall, a top noble young master famous throughout the capital. He used to be extremely arrogant.”

“The only person who can suppress him is our teacher. Anyone else would fail.”

“A person of such status would care about stealing this little bit of credit?”

Yan Fang looked around.

Some people smiled kindly.

Some sneered.

Some were simply relieved that he had not spoken those words earlier.

After all, Yan Fang had merely been lucky enough to receive this particular poem and match it first.

His face turned bright red, and he became speechless.

Thinking back, because of his quick tongue and suspicious nature, he had probably offended countless people when he worked as a bookkeeper.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chen had no idea that others suspected him of stealing credit.

He hurried all the way back to Banshan Hall.

When he arrived, he found Zhang Shou supervising a group of students conducting a friction electricity experiment.

The third and fourth princes were having great fun.

Zhang Shou stood nearby with a smile, watching them.

Seeing that Zhang Shou was free, Zhang Chen quickly approached from the side.

When he reached him, Zhang Shou happened to turn around.

“Teacher, they said this sentence matches…”

Before Zhang Chen could finish, Zhang Shou raised his hand.

He took the paper.

A quick glance was enough.

Unlike Zhang Chen, who only noticed the sentence: “Even Confucius respected the younger generation.”

Zhang Shou immediately noticed the more important thing behind it.

The nonlinear quadratic function.

f(x)=x²+3x+3

The original text:

“Even Confucius respected the younger generation.”

Corresponded to the numbers:

601, 242, 349, 174, 788, 866, 42.

After shifting, the intervals were:

7, 13, 21, 31, 43, 57, 73.

The corresponding first seven ciphertext characters were:

Qing, Jin, Ci, Ke, Wei, Lun, Li.

Zhang Shou had long memorized all fifty-six characters of the fourteen-ring lock.

With just one glance, he knew:

These seven characters really did exist on the first through seventh rings of the rotating text lock.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Then he took another sheet of paper from his sleeve and casually handed it to Zhang Chen.

“Go to Jiuzhang Hall.”

“Use a brush dipped in water to write these sixty-four groups of numbers according to the format I gave you.”

“Then have them use the same method to calculate the second half.”

When Zhang Chen froze for a moment before immediately running back, Zhang Shou looked around Banshan Hall.

Other than the two young princes, who were too young to understand, most students were watching him.

But Zhang Shou deliberately acted as if nothing had happened.

He did not mention a single word.

If all fourteen characters could be solved, then it would be a true success.

Otherwise, it was still merely theoretical speculation.

Even so, once news arrived that Jiuzhang Hall’s “project” had actually made progress, more than a hundred noble students were shocked and doubtful.

Unlike the previous rumor that Zhang Shou personally solved the traitors’ secret message in Shuntian Prefecture…

This time, Zhang Shou had not personally taken action.

Instead, he had relied only on a group of rookie students who had just entered Jiuzhang Hall not long ago.

And they had actually made progress.

The news quickly spread throughout the various halls of the Imperial College.

A group of newly admitted students from Jiuzhang Hall had actually made progress on the fourteen-ring text lock that had troubled the Military Equipment Bureau for years.

Naturally, many people were skeptical.

After all, this was not some ordinary puzzle.

It was a secret mechanism left behind from the previous dynasty.

Even Zhang Kang, the Marquis Weinan, had spent decades searching for the answer.

And yet, these students who had only studied mathematics under Zhang Shou for a few days had already found a breakthrough?

No matter how one looked at it, it sounded unbelievable.

However, the people inside Jiuzhang Hall themselves were completely unaware of the commotion outside.

At this moment, after Zhang Chen returned with Zhang Shou’s instructions, the entire hall immediately became busy again.

The sixty-four groups of numbers that had already been calculated were rewritten according to Zhang Shou’s format.

Then, following the same method as before, everyone began attempting to deduce the second half of the code.

Compared with the first half, the second half was obviously much more complicated.

The first seven characters had already revealed the pattern.

But whether the remaining seven characters followed the same rule was another matter entirely.

After all, in the world of cryptography, discovering one pattern did not mean the entire system followed that pattern.

A careless assumption could lead everyone down the wrong path.

Yet nobody complained.

Nobody gave up.

Because for these students, this was perhaps the first time in their lives that they had been entrusted with something important.

They were not merely solving a textbook problem.

They were participating in something that even officials and scholars had failed to accomplish.

Zhang Chen stood at the side, watching them work.

At first, he had only come because Zhang Shou asked him to watch over the class.

But gradually, he found himself becoming fascinated.

Although he still could not understand most of the formulas, he could clearly see one thing.

These people were serious.

Extremely serious.

They were no longer the hesitant students who had entered Jiuzhang Hall several days ago.

Under Zhang Shou’s teaching, they had begun to believe that they could actually accomplish something.

This feeling was unfamiliar to Zhang Chen.

Since childhood, he had always possessed things others envied.

A prestigious family background.

A grandfather who was a powerful duke.

A father who was an accomplished scholar.

A future that countless people could never obtain.

But precisely because everything had come too easily, he had never truly felt the urgency and determination that these people carried.

At this moment, watching them struggle over calculations, Zhang Chen suddenly understood something.

Perhaps this was what Zhang Shou meant by giving him “leadership potential.”

A leader was not someone who simply stood above others.

A leader was someone who could see the efforts and abilities of others.

Time passed.

The formulas on the papers became increasingly complicated.

Some students calculated.

Some checked.

Some argued over small differences.

Some immediately started over when they found a mistake.

Finally, as the sun began to set, someone suddenly shouted: “Found it!”

Everyone immediately turned around.

The student who shouted stared at the paper in his hand with disbelief.

“The second half… it matches!”

For a moment, the entire hall fell silent.

Then, a wave of excitement erupted.

“Let me see!”

“Check the calculation!”

“Don’t rush, verify it again!”

Unlike ordinary celebrations, nobody immediately cheered.

Instead, everyone began carefully checking.

Because they knew better than anyone:

A single wrong number could ruin everything.

After several rounds of verification, the conclusion was finally confirmed.

The second half also followed the same rule.

The fourteen-ring text lock was no longer an impossible mystery.

When the news reached Zhang Shou, he was not surprised.

He had already expected this possibility.

The first seven characters had proven that his assumption about the encryption method was correct.

The rest was simply a matter of calculation.

However, what surprised him was not the result.

It was the people who achieved it.

A group of students who, only days ago, could barely understand basic equations had actually completed a task that countless scholars had failed to solve.

This was precisely why he had created this project.

Not merely to open a box.

But to let these students discover their own abilities.

That evening, Zhang Shou personally went to Jiuzhang Hall.

When he entered, everyone immediately stood up.

Their expressions were completely different from before.

There was excitement.

Pride.

And a little nervousness.

After all, this was the first time they had accomplished something significant under their teacher’s guidance.

Zhang Shou looked around and smiled.

“Everyone worked hard.”

Those simple words caused several students to straighten their backs unconsciously.

For people who had spent their entire lives being looked down upon because of their backgrounds, recognition from someone like Zhang Shou meant more than any reward.

Zhang Shou then picked up the completed calculations.

After examining them carefully, he nodded.

“Very good.”

“But don’t think this means the task is finished.”

The students immediately became serious.

Zhang Shou pointed at the papers.

“We have only proven that the first fourteen characters can be decoded.”

“The real question is whether the remaining information inside the lock can be completely restored.”

“Also, after opening it, we still need to verify whether the contents inside match the original purpose of this mechanism.”

Everyone nodded.

They understood.

Solving the lock was only the first step.

At the same time, in the Marquis Weinan’s residence.

Zhang Kang received the news.

For a long time, he remained silent.

The old man who had spent decades chasing the secret of the fourteen-ring lock looked at the report in his hand.

A group of students.

A few days of learning.

And yet they had found a direction that he had spent years failing to discover.

Finally, he let out a long sigh.

“This Zhang Shou…”

“He really does have a way of turning impossible things into possible ones.”

Beside him, his subordinate carefully asked: “Marquis, should we immediately send someone to bring the lock to Jiuzhang Hall?”

Zhang Kang shook his head.

“No.”

The subordinate was startled.

“No?”

Zhang Kang looked at the report again.

Then he smiled faintly.

“Let them continue.”

“Since this matter has already become a lesson for Jiuzhang Hall, let them finish it.”

“After all…”

“The future belongs to these young people.”

Meanwhile, inside the palace.

The emperor also received the latest update.

When he heard that the students had made progress, he laughed.

“Interesting.”

“Zhang Shou not only teaches mathematics, he actually knows how to make people work for him.”

The eunuch beside him hesitated before saying: “Your Majesty, are you worried that this matter might fail?”

The emperor shook his head.

“Fail?”

“If they fail, then they only prove that the method does not work.”

“But if they succeed…”

He smiled.

“Then everyone will know that Jiuzhang Hall was not created for decoration.”

“And Zhang Shou…”

“He may have truly found a path that no one before him has discovered.”

Back in Jiuzhang Hall, the students continued working late into the night.

Nobody wanted to leave.

Because for the first time, they were no longer simply students waiting for someone else to decide their future.

They were people who had proven their own worth.

And at the front of the room, the empty seat that belonged to their teacher seemed to silently remind them:

The world had always underestimated them.

But perhaps…

They could surprise the world.