Chapter 137: Mathematics will not lie; if you don't know, you really don't know

People usually think that the poorer, more ignorant, and lower in social status people are, the more they like to fight, because these common people at the bottom always hope to change their social status through war, and war can reshuffle the deck. The public opinion of society always seems to render it this way.

Tan Lun was like an outlier among the meat-eaters. As the Great Ming's Tan Sima, he was always clamoring for war, always wanting to see blood flow like a river.

This is a typical fallacy of shifting blame, shifting the guilt of war onto the common people who can decide nothing.

It's all the fault of this mob of common people! It is the public opinion of the mob that kidnaps the gentlemen who govern the country into war, leading to the suffering of all living things.

The fact is that no poor person or person at the bottom of society can decide to launch a war. Looking at history, those who decide to launch wars are often not the poor, but the meat-eaters.

Even the civil unrest that arises is because the common people really don't have a grain of rice in their rice jars, even the bark on the roadside trees has been eaten up, the rats in the ground can't escape, and even the Guanyin soil has been snatched up crazily. Discussing morality, righteousness, benevolence, wisdom, and faith with common people whose stomachs are about to be starved through is the height of shamelessness.

Is it that the common people are not diligent enough? Can't they get enough food with their own hands?

The guilt of war does not, and should not, be pinned on the common people.

Tan Lun's purpose in clamoring for war was not to satisfy his own selfish interests, but just to warn some people to weigh their own strength clearly. The Imperial Court had the power and ability to flip the table. If you can't win, don't challenge the Imperial Court all day long.

Zhang Jizheng had been trying his best to avoid the escalation of contradictions to the point where they could not be cleaned up and had to be solved through war.

And now Zhang Jizheng agreed to pursue the arrears in many southern provinces because he knew that the Southern Yamen ground could no longer form a joint force to resist the Imperial Court's decrees.

Pursuing the arrears, the powerful gentry in the south would only have to pay.

Zhang Jizheng delineated the scope of pursuing arrears. Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Huguang, Yunnan, and Shandong were no longer in the scope of pursuing arrears. Shandong supplied all the food and pay for the Liaodong Regional Military Commission.

Tan Lun reminded Zhang Jizheng that some dogs had a method of "doubling it."

Zhang Jizheng had seen it many times and took it as a warning.

The Imperial Court wanted to audit taxes, so the powerful gentry and officials, in order to resist this decree, ordered their lackeys to set up checkpoints everywhere. If a chicken in a commoner's house laid an egg, they would tax it; if a peddler sold breakfast, they would label them a "cunning commoner" and impose heavy taxes; if a farmer planted some luffa in their yard, they would wish to pick a few to take to the Yamen. This ultimately led to the failure of the decree.

This kind of thing would definitely happen.

Because it had already happened.

Zhu Zhengse, a scholar in the 2nd year of the Wanli reign, was not yet a Juren in the 5th year of the Longqing reign. He was just a Xiucai. Under the leadership of Zhu Zhengse, more than thirty students broke into the Chuzhou Prefecture Yamen in Zhejiang and beat up the Imperial Court official.

The case was not complicated.

It was said: Jiang Yingmao, the Vice Prefect of Chuzhou Prefecture, had abused the name of the imperial court to levy excessive taxes, harming the public to enrich himself. The water grass used by farmers was pig feed and had never been taxed, yet Jiang Yingmao insisted on seizing ten catties out of every hundred to take to the yamen to feed his pigs. When a monk begged for a bit of alms, he simply snatched it away to make his own lunch.

Zhu Zhengse and a group of students went to the park for an outing and were taxed by Jiang Yingmao. Zhu Zhengse said he was on an outing, so why tax him? This led to a fight. Later, Zhu Zhengse went to the Yamen to file a complaint, saying Jiang Yingmao beat the students. The Zhejiang Regional Surveillance Commissioner Fang Yue didn't listen, so these students beat up the Regional Surveillance Commissioner Fang Yue as well.

This matter became big and reached the ears of the Longqing Emperor. The Longqing Emperor issued an edict: "Students gathering to beat up superiors is a great destruction of the law and discipline. Order the pacification and inspection officials to exhaust the prison, and do not be lenient."

The final result was that Zhu Zhengse and a total of thirty-two students were stripped of their student status and dismissed as commoners. The Chuzhou Prefecture School was empty, and there wasn't a single student left.

The Chuzhou Vice Prefect Jiang Yingmao was transferred to Dali to be Vice Prefect.

But Zhu Zhengse, Feng Chun, and other students regained their student status not long after, and Zhu Zhengse passed the Jinshi examination in the 2nd year of the Wanli reign.

Zhang Jizheng sensed that there was something strange about this matter. Jiang Yingmao, a Jinshi, went to eat the alms food collected by a monk? Taxing the water grass farmers used to feed pigs?

The fact was: at that time, the Imperial Court was pursuing the arrears of taxes in Zhejiang. Jiang Yingmao, who had already surrendered to the powerful gentry, ostensibly followed this decree but executed it doubly, setting up checkpoints and not even sparing the monk's alms food, which aroused public anger. It was only during this outing that the fight broke out.

The final result was nothing more than Zhu Zhengse and others being stripped of their status and dismissed as commoners, and Jiang Yingmao being transferred to Dali. Zhang Jizheng submitted three memorials in a row, all of which sank into the sea.

Beating up an Imperial Court official, and Zhu Zhengse could still restore his student status and pass the Juren and Jinshi examinations, which showed that the officials and gentry were indeed colluding together.

The matter of beating up the Imperial Court official became big, and memorials about "excessive harshness," "too urgent pursuit," and "public resentment" kept entering the Cabinet. In the end, the matter of pursuing arrears was left unsettled.

This is the typical "doubling it."

Power is from top to bottom, but also from bottom to top. That is why Zhang Jizheng repeatedly stated: "Anyone who dares to obstruct public law and harm officials who are doing their duty, the national code exists, and it will definitely not be tolerated." Zhang Jizheng is now in charge of the country. If you have the guts, come and "double it"! Gao Gong didn't deal with it, so let's see if the Imperial Court and Zhang Jizheng will "super-double" it.

At worst, we'll fight a war. Only after the struggle intensifies can we reach a compromise.

Tax auditing is such a thing. The common people don't even have silver in their pockets, only copper coins. How much money can you collect? Whether the cost is enough is another matter.

(Feng Chun and others, students of Chuzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang, because the Vice Prefect of the prefecture, Jiang Yingmao, beat and humiliated the students, Zhu Zhengse's father, Zhu Yang, called and led dozens of students to complain to the Regional Surveillance Commissioner Fang Yue. Yue did not listen, so Chun and others beat Yue and clamored out. The matter was heard, and an edict was issued: Students gathering to beat up superiors is a great destruction of the law and discipline. Order the pacification and inspection officials to exhaust the prison, and do not be lenient. Thus, Chun and twelve others were sentenced to military service, and Zhengse and thirty-two others were each dismissed as commoners. *Veritable Records of the Ming Muzong*, Volume 53)

Zhang Jizheng pondered for a moment and said: "If there is a ticket, collect it; if there is no ticket, do not collect it. If you collect taxes without a ticket, cut off your head as soon as you reach out. The ticket is a collection ticket, but anyone who pursues and collects at will without a collection ticket will be treated as rebellion, with the whole family implicated. The national code exists, and it will definitely not be tolerated."

Tax auditing by the tax-auditing house is all done by issuing collection tickets. Without a collection ticket, setting up checkpoints to collect taxes at will is all impersonation. Catch one and kill one, catch ten and kill ten. The Thousand-Household Officer of the Judicial Commission is from a detective background. If the local area doesn't catch them, the Embroidered Uniform Guards will. If they are caught, it is "implication of the whole family," and there is absolutely no leniency.

If you want to destroy the Imperial Court's new policy, weigh your own strength first.

Wang Chonggu pondered again and again and said: "Implication of the whole family, isn't that a bit unbenevolent? His Majesty is young, wouldn't this implicate His Majesty in an unbenevolent reputation?"

Bad reputation?

Zhu Yijun coughed lightly and said without caring at all: "My virtue is cool and I am young."

Wang Chonggu almost jumped off his stool. He really wanted to return to Xuanfu and Datong as quickly as possible to live his carefree life!

The logic here is actually very simple. Because the Emperor is young, he has not yet cultivated virtue. If things get out of hand, he can say with a wronged face: "I am young and don't understand state affairs yet, and I didn't know that pursuing arrears would lead to this point. Can I issue a self-reproach edict? I have already admitted my mistake, what else do you want?!"

And the little Emperor will stay in this shell of the little Emperor and keep doing this!

At present, the little Emperor supports Zhang Jizheng, and Zhang Jizheng himself is well-versed in the essence of contradictions and holds the theory of public and private. Fighting against the 3.0 version of Zhang Jizheng is completely and truly seeking death.

Wan Shihe, seeing that Wang Chonggu was not cooperating, thought for a while and said: "The *Great Ming Code* clearly states: 'Anyone who gathers a crowd because of a matter, beats or binds officials who are in charge of the matter, or officials who are on public duty to investigate matters or collect money and grain, will be questioned for crimes, regardless of whether they are the leader or the follower. Those belonging to the military guards will be sent to the extreme border to serve in the military; those belonging to the government offices will be sent outside the border to be commoners.'"

"Resistance to taxes fits this clause."

As the Minister of Justice, Wang Chonggu's persuasion of benevolence was clearly doing the work of the Ministry of Rites, so Wan Shihe turned around and did the work of the Ministry of Justice.

Since taxes can only be collected with a collection ticket, collecting taxes without a ticket means cutting off the head as soon as you reach out.

Then the question comes: how to deal with tax resistance? The *Great Ming Collected Statutes* stipulates that tax resistance will be sent to the extreme border to serve in the military.

This is a clear provision written in the *Great Ming Collected Statutes*.

Zhang Jizheng knew this clause because he had specifically studied it for Zhu Zhengse's case, but Wan Shihe actually knew it. He was quite surprised and said: "How does Minister Wan know this clause?"

"I saw it in the *Great Ming Collected Statutes*," Wan Shihe said quite confidently. The Emperor had repeatedly admonished him to read books, and he really read them, and read them quite well. His Majesty told him he could be a fence-sitter, so he was a fence-sitter.

"It should be so." Zhang Jizheng nodded, not knowing whether he was saying that tax resistance being sent to the extreme border should be so, or that the Great Ming's Minister of Rites should be so, or both.

"Then does anyone else have any objections?" Zhang Jizheng fully respected every court official and was willing for them to express their opinions. The purpose of doing this was so that after the decree was passed, if the various ministries did not execute it well, it would be convenient for the Cabinet to hold them accountable.

If you oppose, say it to my face. It's not that I don't let you say it. Just say it boldly. If you do one thing in the open and another in secret, Zhang Jizheng will definitely lose his temper.

The Censor of the Huguang Circuit, Chen Guan, and others would never have thought that as soon as their memorial entered the court, the Imperial Court would directly super-double it and start pursuing the arrears.

This is a lesson. When the tax-auditing house becomes a tax-auditing bureau and is promoted, if you don't obey, pursue the arrears. Let's see who can't hold on first.

After no one had any objections, Zhang Jizheng wrote the floating ticket and sent it to His Majesty for the seal.

Zhang Jizheng handed the memorial in his hand to the Minister of Revenue, slightly distracted, and four words lingered in his mind: "Kill the rich to help the poor!"

These were the four words Zhang Jizheng thought of when His Majesty asked about "being poor without flattery, and being rich without pride." And now, these four words were being realized step by step.

Tax auditing by the tax-auditing house has costs, and the costs are high, which determines that collection tickets will only be issued to the powerful gentry. The Imperial Court can collect taxes, but for underdeveloped areas and common people, it will not impose excessive taxes. Kill the rich to help the poor.

"Grand Secretary?" Lu Diaoyang reminded Zhang Jizheng.

"Sorry, I was distracted." Zhang Jizheng took out another memorial and said: "The Regional Commander of Songjiang, Yu Dayou, and others are requesting credit for Chen Lin, saying that since Chen Lin returned to the Great Ming from Manila, Luzon, he has led twelve maritime defense inspectors, discovered three pirate nests, and the Regional Commander of Songjiang sent troops to wipe them out, beheading 342 people, capturing over 4,500 people, burning over a hundred small boats of the barbarian thieves, and seizing a number of helmets, armor, swords, compasses, and sea charts to be kept."

When Zhu Yijun heard this, he immediately asked: "What were our casualties?"

Zhang Jizheng bowed his head and said: "Eleven died, twenty-one were injured, and the maritime defense inspector Liu You died in battle."

When Zhu Yijun heard this, he said with great emotion: "The green hills are fortunate to bury loyal bones. Establish a Shrine of Loyalty and Bravery to commemorate their loyalty and bravery."

The good men who pacified the Japanese pirates, after having the hydrofoil sailboats, the Great Ming's reconnaissance capability climbed rapidly. This deeply hidden Japanese pirate nest was still found by the Great Ming. The soldiers who pacified the Japanese pirates only did one thing when they discovered the Japanese pirate nest: kill all the Japanese pirates, leaving not a single one.

Zhang Jizheng looked at the memorial and said with a heavy expression: "The armor of the Ge family in Suzhou who colluded with the Japanese pirates was also seized. The evidence is as solid as a mountain."

The Japanese pirate nest destroyed this time seized evidence of the Ge family in Suzhou who previously resisted taxes and colluded with the Japanese pirates. The armor worn by the Japanese came from the Ge family. The head of the Ge family had already been thrown into the Dissection Institute, and the rest of the Ge family were all exiled to the extreme border, but the evil done by the Ge family still had endless poisonous effects.

The little Emperor couldn't help but ask, if the Ge family hadn't sold that armor, could the Great Ming soldiers have died fewer people? Even one less death is one less!

After the court session ended, Wang Chonggu walked out of the Zhao Wenhua Hall slightly distracted. The more he looked at the Zhao Wenhua Hall, the more he felt that this was a place that ate people without spitting out the bones! The little Emperor, Zhang Jizheng, the Grand General, the Tan Sima, the Minister of Revenue, were all moral vacuums!

In order to get things done, they didn't want any face at all.

And inside the Zhao Wenhua Hall, Zhang Jizheng did not hold a lecture, but after thinking about it, he said: "Your Majesty, Zigong asked about benevolence, and the Master said: 'A workman must sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well.'"

"The Great Ming wants to do its work well, so it must first sharpen its tools, but the Great Ming's tools are not sharp. How about this?"

"Your subject has thought about it again and again. Naturally, there are corrupt scholars who talk about quick success and instant benefits, and the world's fashion does not seek the heart of merit and profit. On the other hand, it is unnecessary."

"What does 'unnecessary' mean?" Zhu Yijun was stunned. Zhang Jizheng's statement was a bit strange.

Zhang Jizheng took a deep breath and bowed his head: "Your subject observes the laws of various Western countries and thinks it is because our Great Ming has too many people, so there is no need for technological progress at all. This time, the Nanjing Weaving Bureau recruited weavers, and that was the case. They recruited over a thousand weavers, and as a result, over ten thousand people signed up."

"If production cannot supply maritime trade, then expand recruitment. Recruiting some people can do it. Improving the spinning wheel is time-consuming and laborious. Replacing the old spinning wheel with a new one also costs silver. This is the 'unnecessary' that your subject has been thinking about."

The Great Ming's human resources are too abundant. Land annexation has led to a large number of common people losing their land, and wandering people are everywhere, which has led to the Great Ming having no urgent motivation to develop technology to save manpower while increasing output. The Great Ming's commodities are in a state of saturation. This is a kind of luck, and also a kind of misfortune.

To translate it more clearly, it means if you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will.

"Teacher, since you have discovered this problem, how should it be solved?" Zhu Yijun could naturally understand what Zhang Jizheng was talking about, and he asked quite solemnly.

Zhang Jizheng bowed his head and said: "Allow your subject to think slowly. Your subject has only just noticed this problem. Your subject must think carefully before reporting to Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly. His teacher, Zhang Jizheng, never tired of learning. The teacher had already exerted his subjective initiative and learned to find problems himself!

This problem of Zhang Jizheng is far from as simple as it looks on the surface. The contradictions inside are intricate and complicated. Zhang Jizheng must find the place of the main contradiction and then solve the problem point by point based on the main contradiction.

This involves the problem of redistribution. The Great Ming Imperial Court couldn't collect taxes in the past. How to spend the taxes after they are collected is another problem. If the country is rich and the people are poor, and the country is not rich and the people are still poor, then isn't the country rich in vain?

This also involves the problem of supply and demand. The Great Ming's commodities are generally in a state of saturation. It is true that maritime trade can be used to expand demand, but it lacks a kind of urgent, vast, and lasting demand to promote the output of Great Ming commodities.

This also involves the problem of labor and capital. Because human resources are too abundant, the labor remuneration of laborers leads to low wages, and because the common people have low wages, they cannot obtain sufficient labor remuneration, which in turn leads to the demand within the Great Ming not only not growing, but also having a trend of shrinking.

Zhang Jizheng observed an intricate phenomenon and put forward his own views on the phenomenon. He hadn't even seen through the phenomenon, and he didn't know where the problem was. Naturally, Zhang Jizheng would not make comments casually. He was the Emperor's teacher. Once he taught wrong knowledge, and the little Emperor followed the wrong path, problems would arise.

In fact, Tan Lun's method is also possible: kill, kill, kill! Kill until the blood flows like a river, kill until it is clean!

But in this process of killing, the most unlucky ones are the common people. Every time the world is in chaos, it is when the population drops sharply. Most of the time, the common people bear the price.

Destruction is destruction, and war is war.

Zhang Jizheng started his lecture again, and this time, he talked about mathematics.

"Is the teacher's mathematics so good?" Zhu Yijun listened to a few lessons and was extremely surprised. Zhang Jizheng's strength in mathematics was simply unfathomable.

Zhang Jizheng said with a smile: "Enriching the country and strengthening the army is what your subject proposed. To enrich the country, one must know how to calculate accounts, right?"

"Can the teacher open the twelve temperaments of the Imperial Uncle?" Zhu Yijun asked with great curiosity.

Zhang Jizheng nodded and said: "Yes."

"Yes?!" Zhu Yijun widened his eyes and said: "There is really nothing that can stump the teacher. Teacher, demonstrate it once. I also want to see the world."

I have always heard that you, Zhang Jizheng, are a prodigy. Mathematics will not lie!

Zhu Zaiyu heard that the Emperor wanted to learn music theory, so he immediately brought his little apprentice Wang Yaozhuo, and Cheng Dawei brought three students, carrying Zhu Zaiyu's double-row 81-file large abacus. A group of people came to the Zhao Wenhua Hall in a hurry. Hearing that it was just a demonstration of square root calculation, Zhu Zaiyu was immediately a little helpless.

The little Emperor still didn't like music; he just liked mathematics and was interested in square roots.

And Cheng Dawei was full of enthusiasm. The more the Emperor valued mathematics, the better. Mathematics is the general principle of all things in the world, the principle of ten thousand things from one, and the method of reaching the origin.

Zhang Jizheng took out a pencil and began his performance. He wrote a string of numbers and said: "First, open the square root of 2. That is, from Huangzhong to Ruibin."

Zhang Jizheng's hands flew on the abacus, and Zhu Yijun watched from the side. The specific value of √2, from 1.5 to 1.4, then to 1.41, to 1.414, and then obtained a value accurate to twenty-five decimal places, which is the 6/12 power of 2.

Zhang Jizheng continued: "Square the Ruibin again to get Nanlü."

Zhang Jizheng calculated a little and continued to fiddle with the abacus. Not long after, he obtained another number accurate to twenty-five decimal places, which is the 3/12 power of 2.

"Then cube the Nanlü to get Yingzhong." After Zhang Jizheng finished speaking, he began to operate, and not long after, he obtained the result of the 1/12 power of 2.

"The rest is simple division, very simple." Zhang Jizheng began the calculation, writing the 0 power, 1/12 power, 2/12 power, 3/12 power... 1 power of 2 on the paper in turn.

"Huangzhong double temperament is two feet. With these, you can freely rotate the twelve temperaments," Zhang Jizheng stood up and bowed his head.

"Teacher is amazing." Zhu Yijun gave a thumbs up. The twelve temperaments are the twelfth power of 2, not calculated at once. Square root, then square root, then cube root. Zhu Yijun understood the whole process.

Zhang Jizheng thought for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, this is relatively difficult. You can learn it slowly."

Mathematics will not lie. If you don't know, you don't know. If you don't know, it doesn't matter. Just learn it slowly.

"I have learned it." Zhu Yijun took out paper and pen. Who are you looking down on!

After he wrote a dozen strokes on the draft paper, a formula or program appeared on the paper.

This is actually the formula for Zhang Jizheng's abacus operation just now, but Zhang Jizheng replaced the formula for the three merchants of A, B, and C with algebraic expressions.

Zhu Yijun had read the *Treasury of Mathematics*. In the Great Ming, formulas are actually mnemonics. The mnemonics for square roots and cube roots are different, but the two mnemonics are the same.

The mnemonic Zhu Yijun wrote is an algebraic expression. He calculated the square root of 5 and wrote it out very quickly.

This formula can achieve feedback square root, adding one digit at each step. Even if you input a wrong value, it doesn't matter. The output value will automatically adjust and approach the accurate value.

The formula can achieve positive and negative feedback. If the input value is greater than the output value, it is negative feedback; if the input value is less than the output value, it is positive feedback, approaching the accurate value.

Zhu Yijun finished calculating the square root of 5 and calculated the cube root of 5 again, smiling brightly and saying: "Those who don't know find it difficult, those who know find it easy. Teacher, do you think our Great Ming's Confucian students can calculate this? Both volume and area need to use this."

Zhang Jizheng and Zhu Zaiyu looked at each other, both with some helplessness. Zhu Zaiyu's helplessness was that the Emperor, who was so good at mathematics, just wouldn't learn music theory, making Zhu Zaiyu wish he could force it into the little Emperor.

Zhang Jizheng's helplessness was that this was indeed very difficult, but the little Emperor really knew it.

Zhang Jizheng thought for a moment and said: "Your Majesty, it is better not to be too ambitious. For the Great Ming's students, it is already very amazing to be able to understand the abacus."

"Then post this question to the outside of the Donghua Gate, and let our Great Ming's students see it. Things that a twelve-year-old child can learn, there is no reason why our Great Ming's students can't. They are all dragons and phoenixes among people. This little thing can't stump them." Zhu Yijun's smile became even brighter.

Zhang Jizheng bowed his head and agreed, but he knew that the Hanlin of the Hanlin Academy and the students of the Imperial College were currently in a state of weariness of learning. They just didn't want to learn mathematics and tried every possible way not to learn it. In the hearts of most Confucian scholars, mathematics is just a tool for low-class merchants to do business.

Once the list is posted a few times and the name of the last place spreads throughout the capital, naturally they won't be weary of learning.

If you are the last place once, it's because you didn't study well for a period of time. If you are always the last place, how can you still have the face to be a Hanlin?

Zhang Jizheng wrote the Emperor's mnemonic, formula, and calculation examples on a piece of paper and sent it to the Ministry of Rites to be posted.

When the Great Ming Minister of Rites, Wan Shihe, saw the edict, he rejoiced again and again that he didn't have to take the mathematics examination at his age. That was truly His Majesty's great favor!

As soon as the list was posted, the students in the capital wailed!

With the current wind and momentum in the Great Ming, mathematics might be added to the next imperial examination!

Study? Can't learn it. Don't study? Can't pass the exam.

Wang Chonggu, as the Minister of Justice, naturally also received this journal, which left him dumbfounded. He hadn't seen Western algorithms yet, and was confused about these letters, but symbols like A, B, C, mnemonics, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and equals were indeed more complex than xyz+- in terms of strokes.

Wang Chonggu studied the Emperor's general square root formula carefully and took out his abacus to calculate a few times.

After Wang Chonggu finished calculating, he frowned and said: "Zhang Siwei, isn't this the content in our *Treasury of Mathematics*? How does His Majesty know? These fifty-five volumes of books are not widely circulated."

"Ge Shouli presented it," Zhang Siwei waved his hands repeatedly. He wanted to present it, but he didn't get the chance. Ge Shouli had already taken the first step, hadn't he?

After Wang Chonggu heard this, he realized why Ge Shouli was promoted to Crown Prince's Junior Preceptor. Presenting books was a merit. He said with great dissatisfaction: "What have you been doing in the capital?"

"If you couldn't get through to Ge Shouli, couldn't you find Wan Shihe? Why miss such a good opportunity to snatch credit? You are also good at drilling, why didn't I see that you were good at drilling at all?"

Zhang Siwei waved his hands again and said: "It's not that I didn't want to, Wan Shihe wanted to present Western mathematics."

"Sigh." Wang Chonggu sighed heavily, looking at Zhang Siwei with anger.

Wang Chonggu pondered again and again, his eyes lit up and he said: "I do have a way. This credit can still be rubbed off a bit. *Treasury of Mathematics* is mathematical principles, but we Jin merchants are best at using the abacus. Present the method of using the abacus. At least share a bit of the credit."

Zhang Siwei hesitated and whispered: "Someone has already presented it. Zhang Jizheng presented Cheng Dawei's *General Principles of Algorithms* to His Majesty."

Wang Chonggu was furious, looking at Zhang Siwei and asking sharply: "Tell me, what else can you do! What else can you do! Besides those conspiracies, can you do something? Let me have some face? I at least settled 190,000 displaced tenant farmers! What about you? Are you eating dry rice in the capital?"

Zhang Siwei whispered: "That's not it either. I bribed the cook at the Quanchu Guild Hall. If needed, I can poison Zhang Jizheng."

"What if it's a trap? A trap set by Zhang Jizheng for you! How will you respond?" Wang Chonggu stared with wide eyes, wishing he could slap Zhang Siwei to death.

Zhang Siwei whispered even more softly: "I also bribed the cook in the palace."

Wang Chonggu slapped Zhang Siwei on the back of the head, saying with hatred for his failure to meet expectations: "What if it's a trap? A trap set by His Majesty for you! How will you respond?"

"Do you not know how powerful the Grand Secretary is, or do you not know how powerful the little Emperor is? You bribed that Zhang Qiuju, and wasn't he cleared out of the palace by His Majesty?"

"Hai Rui returned to the court and brought the matter directly into the open! Only one of the eight sons of the World Temple remains! Tell me, what will His Majesty and the Empress Dowager think when they hear this? Will they deliberately arrange a bait?"

"His Majesty and the Grand Secretary set the hook, and you are really biting it!"

I have something to go out today, I don't know if there will be any tonight. Requesting monthly tickets, Aowu!!!!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 139 =====