In the meeting hall of the Imperial College.
Kong Yingda's expression was gloomy and he remained silent. There were three chairs on each side of the room, and the five Imperial College Professors were seated. The third chair on the left was empty, and it was obviously the seat of the former Imperial College Professor, Shen Hongcai.
"We are now discussing the matter of reinstating Shen Hongcai's position!" Kong Yingda struggled to speak after a long while.
Once this topic was brought up, the four professors lowered their heads and remained silent. Only the Calligraphy Professor, Liu Yinian, said with a flushed face, "Lord Chancellor, why do you want to reinstate Shen Hongcai's position? Lord, do you know that Shen Hongcai changed the teaching content without permission, and even used the School of Mohism's new mathematics? If we don't punish him, how will others view our Imperial College and our Confucian School? "
Liu Yinian's words could be said to be from the highest point of the Confucian School. This time, in removing Shen Hongcai, Liu Yinian was the most active.
In the Imperial College, other than Kong Yingda, Liu Yinian was the most senior. He was even expected to take over the position of Imperial College Chancellor after Kong Yingda stepped down.
Who would have thought that His Majesty would suddenly place importance on mathematics, causing Shen Hongcai's position to rise rapidly, and it was even showing signs of surpassing Liu Yinian's.
When Liu Yinian heard that Shen Hongcai had only used Indian mathematics, he was ecstatic and directly complained to Kong Yingda, urging him to expel Shen Hongcai from the Imperial College.
He even secretly instructed Wang Ling and the others to speak ill of Shen Hongcai everywhere, in a futile attempt to tarnish Shen Hongcai's reputation, so that Shen Hongcai would not have a chance to make a comeback.
Who would have thought that Mo Jiazi would organize a debate among the famous people, which directly changed Kong Yingda's mind.
"If we fire Shen Hongcai, who will teach the Imperial College's mathematics?" Kong Yingda said angrily.
"There are a lot of famous mathematicians in Chang 'an City, right? Descendants of Liu Hui and the Zu family. With the status of our Imperial College, these people are all racking their brains to come to the Imperial College," Liu Yinian said unhappily.
"Then go and invite them! Let's see if they are willing to come! "Kong Yingda said snappily.
Liu Yinian was stunned. He didn't understand what was going on.
"I'm afraid Dr. Liu doesn't know yet! Several people who originally intended to take up the post of Doctor of Mathematics have declined the invitation of the Lord Chancellor. Now, none of the masters of mathematics who want to enter the Imperial College with qualifications in Chang 'an City are willing to teach at the Imperial College. "The Doctor of Law kindly reminded.
"Why is that?"
Liu Yinian didn't understand. Soon after, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly said angrily, "Could it be that Mo Jiazi is behind all this?"
The Doctor of Law shook his head bitterly and said, "Brother Liu, can't you see it? Now, there is no one who can teach these students in the field of mathematics. "
"They are just a bunch of little brats …!" Liu Yinian suddenly thought of the lightning-fast mental arithmetic performance by the students of Class C before the debate. That terrifying calculation method and shocking performance.
"We've been tricked!"
Liu Yinian's expression changed. He finally understood what was wrong. Mo Jiazi's real intention wasn't to use the Famous Mathematicians Debate to defeat Class C, but his real intention was to use the performance before the debate to valiantly express a fact. The standard of mathematics in Class C was already beyond the traditional methods of mathematics.
Even if they invited a new Doctor of Mathematics, they would also face the same problem as Shen Hongcai. If they still used the original method, the students would be better than the teachers. If they used the new method, they would also end up in the same situation as Shen Hongcai. This was what the masters of mathematics in Chang 'an City were worried about. If they came to teach at the Imperial College, not only would there be no benefits, but they would also destroy their reputation.
Liu Yinian slowly raised his head and saw that everyone was rejoicing. Fortunately, this kind of thing didn't happen to their discipline. Otherwise, he would end up like Shen Hongcai.
Kong Yingda could see very clearly that this was Mo Jiazi's overt scheme. It was also a form of coercion from the bottom up. However, he couldn't help but admit that the development of mathematics was out of control.
Ever since the appearance of the son of Mohism, he first used the problem of the disaster victims to arouse His Majesty's interest in mathematics. Then, he threw out the Indian numbers and inspired Zu Mingjun to discover the parabola. In the end, he unexpectedly developed the extraordinary lightning mental arithmetic. His extremely terrifying calculation ability directly scared away all the masters of mathematics who coveted the position of Doctor of Mathematics.
Now, Kong Yingda truly understood the struggle that Shen Hongcai had at that time. Now, other than Shen Hongcai, no one else was qualified to be a Doctor of the Imperial College.
In the silence, the reinstatement of Shen Hongcai's position was passed.
When Shen Hongcai appeared at the door of Room Three again, all the supervisors in Room Three cheered in unison.
"Teacher, how are you?" all the supervisors shouted respectfully. Everyone was in awe of this teacher who was dedicated to pursuing knowledge.
"Thank you, everyone." Shen Hongcai was very emotional. He originally thought that this would be the end of his career in the Imperial College. He didn't expect these students to turn the tide and save him.
"Meton, this is all thanks to you," Shen Hongcai said solemnly in a pavilion in the Imperial College.
"Teacher, you're exaggerating! Meton didn't do anything. It's all thanks to everyone! "Meton said modestly.
Shen Hongcai smiled slightly and changed the topic. "I've seen the lightning mental arithmetic. Although it can save a lot of time, it doesn't seem to be able to be popularized on a large scale."
Shen Hongcai expressed his concern. He realized that the lightning mental arithmetic wasn't suitable for popularizing. If the Imperial College found out that they had been cheated, the consequences would be even worse.
"Teacher, you're wise. However, for the Imperial College students, the lightning mental arithmetic isn't a problem. At least it can be popularized in the Imperial College." Meton's plan was simple. Even if the lightning mental arithmetic couldn't be popularized among ordinary people, as long as it was popularized in the Imperial College, Shen Hongcai's position would be unshakable.
"The study of mathematics is indeed broad and profound. The Old Man was really a frog in a well!" Shen Hongcai said emotionally. After he was suspended, he focused on recalculating the famous works of mathematics of the past with Indian numerals. In the end, he realized that all the problems in the past could be solved easily.
"Teacher, you're right. I believe that all the knowledge in the hundred schools of thought is just one school of thought. Only the study of mathematics has existed forever since the birth of mankind. The people can't live without mathematics, and the country's finances can't live without mathematics. Mathematics has long been involved in all aspects of mankind. Every progress of mankind has been driven by mathematics. However, such an important study of mathematics hasn't been given the status it deserves. Many private schools only teach the Four Books and Five Classics and don't mention mathematics, resulting in a group of deformed talents.
"Of course, this is related to the environment. A large part of the reason is that mathematics is too difficult to understand. Now that the Indian numerals have greatly simplified the calculation method, it's the best time for mathematics to develop. Meton sincerely hopes that Teacher can compile a textbook of mathematics that is easy to learn, from the basics to the basics, so that the study of mathematics can flourish."
Meton's words made Shen Hongcai's heart waver. This was a revolution in the study of mathematics. If there was really such a textbook and it could be disseminated to all the private schools of the Tang dynasty, then the study of mathematics would truly flourish.
"Alright, there can be no construction without destruction. Since the previous study of mathematics is no longer suitable to be popularized, then the Old Man will risk universal condemnation and compile a new book of mathematics to popularize the study of mathematics. Since the new study of mathematics uses Indian numerals, in order to distinguish it from the previous study of mathematics, the Old Man has decided to name it mathematics, "Shen Hongcai said passionately.
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