With the end of the court meeting, Mo Jiazi's three questions spread throughout Chang 'an. Everyone in Chang' an was eager to prove their wisdom and solve Mo Jiazi's three difficult questions.
"Use a soft needle! It will definitely pass the Nine Tunes Jade. " A young man said confidently. However, when he saw the shape of the nine tunes, he was immediately speechless.
"The remaining foals of the white horses are definitely white horses, and so are the other horses. How can we not distinguish them?" A rich young man said confidently as he stroked the fine horse under his crotch.
A coachman retorted, "Of course we can distinguish a mare from a foal. However, there are 100 horses. Of course, there will be horses of the same color. How can we distinguish them? Besides, what if they are cross-breeds of horses of different colors?"
The rich young man covered his face and walked away silently.
An old man snorted, "Even if Lu Dongzan is lucky, the Tubo emissary can't eat a sheep and a jar of wine. This time, Lu Dongzan is dead meat."
Many people of the Tang dynasty nodded. According to normal people's thinking, how could a person eat a sheep? Even if he was stuffed to death, he would not be able to do it. Not to mention that there was a jar of strong wine. Even the best drinker would be drunk.
Not only did the people of Chang 'an think so, but the Tubo emissary group in Honglu Temple was also depressed. Lu Dongzan's face was full of worry. Mo Jiazi's three questions kept flashing in his mind. They were like three death curses hanging over his head.
The deputy emissary of Tubo said angrily, "Mo Jiazi has gone too far. He purposely came up with some unsolvable questions to make things difficult for you. He is trying to kill you."
Lu Dongzan shook his head and said, "No, there must be a solution. It's just that we haven't thought of it yet."
The deputy emissary of Tubo frowned and said, "You are too optimistic. How can Mo Jiazi let us go with a flawed question?"
Lu Dongzan explained, "Mo Jiazi thinks highly of himself. He knows that once I fail, he will be asked to answer the three questions in front of everyone. If he can't answer them, he will not be able to convict me. Therefore, in order to kill me, Mo Jiazi must have an answer."
The deputy emissary of Tubo suddenly understood, but then he frowned. Mo Jiazi was famous for his wisdom in the Tang dynasty. The questions that Mo could solve, they might not be able to solve them.
Lu Dongzan took a deep breath and said, "From now on, everyone in the Tufan diplomatic group must listen to my command. If I am unable to solve these three questions, I will lose my life in the hands of the son of Mohism, and the deputy envoy will lead you back to Tufan."
The emissaries of Tubo immediately said, "We are willing to follow your orders. If worst comes to worst, we will fight them."
"What about the agreement between Tubo and the Buddhists?" The deputy emissary of Tubo frowned and asked. The deputy emissary of Tubo and Lu Dongzan were not on the same side. Lu Dongzan was originally used to appease the anger of the Tang dynasty and then replaced him.
Lu Dongzan's eyes were firm. "As promised!"
The deputy emissary of Tubo nodded silently. The Tang dynasty was too powerful. Tubo was far from being their opponent. With the Buddhists as a bridge, they could ease the tension a little.
Soon, the night passed.
Lu Dongzan, who had not slept all night, came to Taiji Palace as promised. Seeing Lu Dongzan, almost all the officials were curious. They had been racking their brains all night and still could not solve the problem. They wanted to see Lu Dongzan's ability.
"Let's begin!" Li Shimin waved his hand.
Meton stepped forward and handed a white and smooth jade to Pande. Pande held it on a tray and brought it to Lu Dongzan.
Lu Dongzan lowered his head to look. Through the translucent jade, he could clearly see the curved jade hole. Lu Dongzan's eyes couldn't help but shrink. This jade hole had a total of nine curves. Even the softest needle wouldn't be able to pass through it.
The other officials could not help but shake their heads. They also wanted to try to solve the first question with their own methods. But when they saw the nine curve jade, they suddenly realized that they were too naive. Mo Jiazi's problem was solved so easily.
"Mo Jiazi's problem is unsolvable. Why did he use this method to kill Lu Dongzan? Isn't he too aggressive?" An imperial censor frowned.
Suddenly, almost all the officials' eyes were fixed on the imperial censor. The Confucian scholar could not help but feel guilty. After all, Tubo had ambushed Mo Jiazi. Mo Jiazi's revenge was not excessive. Not to mention, Mo Jiazi had already left Lu Dongzan a chance to live.
Lu Dongzan was not the only one who guessed that Mo Jiazi had an answer. How could the officials not guess? It was just that all those who could compete with Mo Jiazi in intelligence had all returned with grievances. The officials could not help but look at Lu Dongzan with pity. They did not have any hope for him at all.
But to everyone's surprise, Lu Dongzan did not hesitate to pick up the nine curve jade and a thin silk thread. He suddenly got down on the ground and began to search.
The officials frowned in confusion at Lu Dongzan's strange behavior. They saw Lu Dongzan quickly find an ant on the ground and carefully use the thread to tie it up.
"An ant!" The officials had a flash of inspiration and vaguely understood Lu Dongzan's next move.
Sure enough, Lu Dongzan lowered his head and sent the ant into a jade hole in the jade. At the same time, he constantly blew into the hole, forcing the ant to crawl inside.
Soon, the ant crawled out from the other end of the jade with the thread. Lu Dongzan untied the ant and picked up the thread. It perfectly passed through the jade hole.
"So simple!"
Taiji Palace was in an uproar. No one had expected Lu Dongzan to solve the nine curve jade that had baffled countless people so quickly.
In that moment, all the officials couldn't help but look at Lu Dongzan in a new light. Whether this person had used a trick or had real strength, being able to beat Mo Jiazi by one move was already praiseworthy.
"I have not failed my mission. Please, Your Majesty, Heavenly Khan." Lu Dongzan cupped his hands and presented the nine curve jade with the thread in front of Li Shimin.
Li Shimin watched the thin thread perfectly pass through the nine curve jade. He couldn't help but look at Lu Dongzan a few more times. No wonder even Meton treated him so seriously. He really did have some skill.
"Meton, have you solved the first problem?" Li Shimin turned to Merton.
Meton couldn't help but twitch his lips. He disdainfully said, "It is just a child's game. Even a three-year-old child can solve it."
The faces of all the civil and military officials darkened. Even a three year old child could solve the problem, but it could baffle countless commoners. Didn't this mean that they were inferior to a three year old child? But seeing such a simple answer, the officials had no words to refute it.
Li Shimin's lips twitched. He waved his hand and said, "Then let's begin the second problem! Our Imperial Horse Stewards have already prepared a mare and a foal for each pair. Each pair will be mother and son. "
"Heavenly Khan's might commands the four seas. You are fair and just. This official naturally trusts you. However, this official has never seen these one hundred horses. Please give this official one night to identify them, "Lu Dongzan respectfully said.
Li Shimin nodded and said, "This request is pardonable."
"Many thanks to the wise and farsighted Heavenly Khan," Lu Dongzan said gratefully.
As Lu Dongzan was led to the Imperial Horse Directorate by a eunuch, the first problem was solved. When the news spread from Chang 'an to the commoners, there was an uproar. No one had expected the answer to be so simple.
"It's just a trick. This time, Tubo was lucky enough to pass. He won't be so lucky next time," many of the commoners of Chang 'an snorted.
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