The emperor does not necessarily need to learn mathematics, but no matter how many wives he marries, he will definitely be able to count them all. If he can’t count, his wives will help him count them. If the wives can’t count them either, it will be easy to kill a few and count them.
Li Qinzai thought about a lot of issues about children's innocence and ignorance, including the rise to power of Empress Wu.
Although the relationship between the emperor and the queen is as good as honey, Empress Wu also fought her way out of the blood sea of corpses in the harem.
The smiling Li Zhi in front of him seemed to be completely unaware of the cruel harem battles back then.
The harem was like a beetle's nest. Three thousand beauties regarded him as a trophy and fought hard. The winner, the queen, and the loser died.
Obviously, in this cruel battle, Empress Wu became the final winner and enjoyed her spoils alone.
Looking at Li Zhi laughing, Li Qinzai's thoughts were far away.
Qiao'er seemed to like Li Zhi very much. Li Zhi squatted in front of him, showing a rare naughty look.
"Emperor is just a title. I look just like ordinary people. Look at me, do I have a pair of eyes and a mouth?"
Qiao'er didn't recognize life at all. After getting together with Li Qinzai, I have to say that his personality changed a lot.
At this moment, he actually reached out and touched Li Zhi's nose, and then turned to look at Li Qinzai happily.
"Dad, we really look the same," Qiao'er touched him and quickly hid behind Li Qinzai, saying, "But he's still not as handsome as dad. Dad is more handsome than the emperor, and he also has a beard..."
Li Qinzai's eyelids twitched and he hurriedly apologized: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for the unintentional words of a child and the unintentional words of a dog..."
Li Zhi waved his hand and said: "Okay, am I so cruel that I even care about my children's words?"
Looking at Qiao'er with a smile in his eyes, Li Zhi sighed: "My sixth son Li Xian is about the same age as Qiao'er. He was born in the fifth year of Yonghui. He was renamed King of Pei at the age of six this year. If he has free time, Jingchu will return
After Chang'an, we might as well let the two boys play and study together."
Then Li Zhi smiled and said: "The "Hundred Family Surnames" you compiled is very helpful to the enlightenment. Now the princes and princesses in the palace who have not yet been enlightened have all changed to learn your "Hundred Family Surnames". In a few years,
Presumably the people also regard the family name as the first to enlighten, Jingchu, you have made great contributions to the Tang Dynasty."
"I dare not take credit. The Hundred Family Surnames were just compiled by me inadvertently for the convenience of teaching Qiao'er. I am ashamed. I had no intention of making any contribution to the Tang Dynasty at that time. I only thought about how to make Qiao'er recognize more words."
Li Zhi laughed and said: "It doesn't matter whether you did it intentionally or not. What's important is that you have indeed made meritorious service. Didn't I also decree that Qiao'er be given the title of 'Captain of Light Vehicles'? It doesn't count."
Reward, just express your feelings."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After chatting for a while, Li Zhi caught a glimpse of the sand on the ground, which was covered with numbers.
Li Zhi let out a sigh and said, "What is this? It's twisted and weird. Is it used for learning?"
Li Qinzai hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's just focus on knowledge. I'm teaching Qiao'er mathematics."
“What is ‘mathematics’?”
"The study of numbers, uh, our Datang Dynasty is also called the 'Ming Suan Ke'. I believe that children's enlightenment requires not only literacy and memorization, but also learning to do math."
Li Zhi suddenly realized: "It turns out it's Mingsuan. Oh, the Mingsuan of the Tang Dynasty is based on the "Nine Chapters of Suanjing". The court's scientific examinations will also select a number of scholars from the Mingshu, but most of the children are from thirteen or fourteen years old.
I just started learning arithmetic, which is a bit early for Qiao'er's age."
Li Qinzai sighed. In fact, the Tang Dynasty was very good, but it also had many shortcomings. Although the monarchs, ministers and people were broad-minded, the ancients' knowledge was not forward-looking after all.
Apart from emphasizing culture, martial arts and farming, I really don't care about anything else.
Li Qinzai was not very familiar with Li Zhi at the moment and could not figure out the emperor's temper, so he did not dare to give advice hastily. Judging from Li Zhi's attitude, it seemed that he did not pay much attention to the science of calculation, so it was difficult for Li Qinzai to give advice.
It is said that emperors are moody. If they are in the middle of a lively conversation, Li Zhi suddenly gets upset at the banquet and shouts, "Where is the knife and the axe?"...
The first person in history to sacrifice his precious life for science, Li Qinzai did not want this honor at all.
"Yes, yes, your majesty is right. However, there is nothing to do in Zhuangzi. When I am bored, I just teach Qiao'er." Li Qinzai said perfunctorily.
Li Zhi noticed his perfunctory attitude, frowned, then smiled and pointed at him.
"Jing Chu, I heard that you have a good reputation in Chang'an City. You should be a person who is not afraid of heaven and earth. Why are you so reserved in front of me? Are you afraid that I will be moody and kill someone if you don't agree with me?"
Li Qinzai laughed dryly. If you were not the emperor, I would dare to pinch your neck and yell at you with bulging veins, "Learn mathematics, physics and chemistry well, and you will not be afraid of traveling all over the world." Do you believe it or not?
Li Zhi's interest suddenly dropped for some reason, and he sighed sadly: "Everyone says that emperors are lonely, but I have always felt that I am just like ordinary people. I also eat, drink, and have diarrhea, and also suffer from birth, old age, illness, and death."
"Jingchu, you have saved my life and made great contributions to the country many times. I hope that in addition to being a monarch and a minister, you and I can also be friends who talk about everything."
"Only a ruthless and unjust emperor would think that being alone is an honor. I have never felt that way."
These words were very sincere, and Li Qinzai was slightly moved.
He suddenly felt Li Zhi's loneliness and Li Zhi's need for friends.
The emotion that a man needs is not just love. There are some emotions that Empress Wu cannot give him, nor can his elders and relatives.
Just like the relationship between Li Qinzai and Xue Ne, friends are relaxed and comfortable when they get along, they can show their backs to each other, and they can also joke and play with each other without any scruples and etiquette.
Li Zhi may have never experienced this kind of emotion in his life.
Li Qinzai really wanted to treat Li Zhi as a friend, but after all, he was the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.
The Li Zhicheng Mansion in the history books is quite impressive. He did better than his father in many areas, and he was definitely not the silly and sweet person he appeared to be.
However, although you don't necessarily need to treat him as a friend, it is still right to give him advice as a courtier.
After hesitating for a long time, Li Qinzai suddenly said: "I would like to give your Majesty a piece of advice. Please accept your advice."
"you say."
Li Qinzai thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, do you remember that I made a paper airplane in Tai Chi Palace, which could fly five or six feet away?"
"Remember, I still remember Jingchu said that this thing involves air flow, aerodynamics, etc., I still don't know what it means."
Li Qinzai used a stick to draw a standard square on the ground and said, "I will show your Majesty something new."
Li Zhi perked up and hurriedly raised his voice: "Wang Changfu!"
Chamberlain Wang Changfu appeared behind him quietly like a ghost: "My servant is here."
Li Qinzai was startled. Could this guy be a ghost soldier raised by Li Zhi?
Li Zhi said in a deep voice: "Get a pen and paper, I will play with Jing Chu, and you can write it down."
Wang Changfu bowed: "I obey your order."
After getting the paper and pen, Wang Changfu sat down cross-legged in the yard, dipped his brush in ink and hovered over the table.
Li Qinzai scratched his head: "Well, Your Majesty, there is no need to be so formal..."
Li Zhi smiled and said: "What Jingchu thought and said has been of great help to me and the Tang Dynasty. I must remember it. You can just say it. After the palace people write it down, I will go back and refer to it carefully."
After taking a deep look at Li Zhi, Li Qinzai suddenly realized that his position in Li Zhi's mind seemed to be much more important than he imagined.
"Your Majesty, what I want to advise your Majesty is about the importance of calculation."
"I am all ears." Li Zhi looked very humble at this moment.
So Li Qinzai calmed down and drew a straight line with a long stick on the sand-covered ground, and two arrows in the same direction were drawn below the straight line.
"For example, our King's Division of the Tang Dynasty fought a fierce battle with the enemy. The enemy was defeated and fled on foot. After escaping for half an hour, our King's Division sent cavalry to pursue it. Does Your Majesty know how long it will take for the King's Division to catch up with the enemy?"
Li Zhi frowned, looking confused.
"Given a condition, the defeated enemy army can run twenty miles every hour, and the cavalry of our Tang Dynasty King's Division can run fifty miles every hour. The general leading the army must know the exact time to catch up with the enemy..."
"Just chase, why do we need to know the exact time?" Li Zhi asked puzzledly.
Li Qinzai sighed and said: "What if the direction of the enemy's retreat happens to be their own city? Our generals must know whether they can catch up with the enemy before they flee into the city, right?"
"If you know in advance that you can catch up, you will naturally pursue it with all your strength. If you know after calculation that you cannot catch up, you will decisively withdraw your troops and plan the next military operation. This is the ability that a general should have to assess the situation."
Li Zhi's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Can you figure it out?"
"able."
As he said this, Li Qinzai used a long stick to count on the sand.
"The enemy marches twenty miles every hour, and our army pursues fifty miles every hour. The enemy marches for half an hour first, that is, after walking ten miles before our army begins to pursue. Then the starting distance between the two armies is ten miles. The formula for pursuit is
Distance minus speed difference..."
Li Qinzai easily wrote a formula on the sand and said calmly: "So, the time it takes our army to pursue the enemy is one-third of an hour. In about two quarters, our army can catch up with the enemy."
, and annihilate them.”
After finishing writing, Li Qinzai threw away the long stick in his hand and smiled at Li Zhi: "If the general leading the army knows how to calculate, he can easily decide whether to pursue or withdraw his troops at this time..."
Li Zhi was stunned, staring at the crooked and unfamiliar Arabic numerals written on the ground, and did not look up for a long time.
"Jingchu, what are you..." Li Zhi shook his head vigorously and said nonchalantly: "What happened just now? Why did you suddenly calculate the time?"
Li Qinzai said softly: "Your Majesty, this is the science of clear calculation. All things in the world, whether moving or still, can be clearly calculated to define their shape and speed, and master the laws of all things."
Li Zhi looked blank, turned to look at Wang Changfu who was recording, and said, "Do you understand?"
Wang Changfu still kept the pen hanging on the paper. He didn't understand the mathematical formula Li Qinzai just wrote, so he didn't record a word.