Chapter 513

Following this question from Suan Wudao, all the officials within the Jin Luan Hall furrowed their brows.

"Chickens and rabbits are in the same cage; together they have sixty heads and two hundred feet. How many chickens and how many rabbits are there respectively..."

The officials looked at one another, completely bewildered.

In the seven kingdoms where Confucianism and poetry flourished, few people studied mathematics; for them, this question was instantly beyond their scope.

"Difficult!"

"Too difficult!"

"This question is simply unheard of!"

"This Suan Wudao is truly worthy of being the Chief of the Great Chu Mathematics Bureau. As soon as he makes a move, it's a math problem of this difficulty. I only thought about it for a moment, and I felt like my cerebellum was about to grow a brain!"

"Sixty heads, two hundred feet—even if I racked my brains, I couldn't figure it out!"

Inside the Jin Luan Hall, noisy voices suddenly erupted.

The officials all felt their heads aching and their scalps tingling; even Cui Xinghe and Shangguan Wan'er, who were quite skilled in mathematics, found it deeply troublesome.

Wu Zhao's phoenix eyes were tightly locked, her gaze filled with contemplation.

She had heard lectures from great scholars of mathematics in the palace, but she had never seen such a bizarre question.

Chickens and rabbits locked in a cage together, using the number of heads and feet to form a problem—it left one without a clue. How was one to solve this?

Wu Zhao's phoenix eyes fell upon Gao Yang, carrying a hint of worry.

Could Gao Yang solve this?

"Lord Gao, what do you think of my question?"

As Suan Wudao's voice fell, his arrogant gaze turned toward Gao Yang.

He stroked the beard on his chin, clearly very pleased with this question!

Gao Yang looked at Suan Wudao, his expression turning strange.

He could not help but sigh and say:

"Difficult!"

"It is truly too difficult!"

"Worthy of being the Great Chu Mathematics Chief, Gao Yang truly admires you, but this official is very puzzled: why must these chickens and rabbits be locked together?"

Upon hearing this, Suan Wudao let out a hearty laugh.

"Lord Gao, there is no need to worry about the details; it is just a math problem!"

"How about this, don't say that I am bullying you, Lord Gao!"

"If you, Lord Gao, can solve it, I will become your disciple. But if you lose, I don't want much—because in my heart, this is just an exchange of skills—I only ask that you, Lord Gao, do not act too arrogantly in the future!"

"I only want some grain. The amount of grain doesn't need to be much: just take a chessboard, put one grain of rice in the first square, and then double it for each subsequent square. You, Lord Gao, may also seek help from the entire court of Da Qian. As long as you can calculate it within half an hour, I will consider you, Lord Gao, the winner!"

Suan Wudao spoke slowly, a trace of imperceptible murderous intent hidden in his murky eyes.

As long as Gao Yang agreed, he would be dead for sure!

Open spears are easy to dodge, but how does one defend against this murderous intent from the realm of mathematics?

As these words rang out, the eyes of Wu Zhao and Shangguan Wan'er both turned cold.

If this were before, they might have truly been deceived.

When Gao Yang spoke of the relationship between the world's land and population, he used the chessboard rice-placing method. This chessboard seemed to hold very little, but in the end, it would require more grain than the entire Da Qian treasury—and even the seven kingdoms combined—could provide!

This Suan Wudao is truly vicious!

Wu Zhao's phoenix eyes were icy, her killing intent sharp.

But before she could rebuke Suan Wudao for his shamelessness, she heard Gao Yang's voice.

"Master Suan is of noble character, and this official admires him. Looking at it this way, it seems this official is taking a big advantage, but this official has never been one to take advantage of others!"

"How about this: if this official is lucky enough to solve it, the conditions will be the same as yours, Master Suan—using the chessboard rice-placing method, doubling each time. At your age, Master Suan, how could I accept a kowtow from you? That would be too life-shortening!"

Once these words were out.

Suan Wudao was stunned!

This Gao Yang actually didn't want to take advantage of him.

He stared at Gao Yang's face, secretly sighing in his heart that Gao Yang had stumbled upon the right answer by accident!