Liu Hong found it hard to believe. How could someone as young as Fei Qian possibly recognize this object? Moreover, it was something he had just created. How could Fei Qian know about it? Could there really be someone born with such innate intelligence?
Fei Qian looked at the "abacus" and finally understood why he had always felt an awkward sense of familiarity. It was familiar because he had learned this method of calculation back in elementary school. The awkwardness came from the fact that this abacus required placing beads into the middle layer's grid one by one, rather than sliding beads up and down on a rod.
"Why not use a rod to string them together?" Fei Qian thought aloud.
"What rod?" Liu Hong, standing nearby, asked in confusion. Could there be some flaw in the abacus he had worked so hard to create?
"This..." Fei Qian hesitated. Was he about to unlock some strange technological advancement? When exactly did the Chinese abacus take its final form? Was it during the Tang Dynasty or even earlier? In any case, it definitely existed by the Song Dynasty. He remembered seeing an abacus on a shop counter in the painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," and its form was almost identical to the modern version.
Would revealing this abacus now have any impact? Fei Qian pondered silently. But since he had already spoken, there was no taking it back. He decided to ask for a piece of paper and quickly sketched out the modern abacus.
As soon as Fei Qian finished drawing, Liu Hong snatched the paper before Cai Yong could get to it. He nodded repeatedly, murmuring praises. "Yes, why didn't I think of this... This way, there's no fear of losing the beads. Moreover, the beads on the same rod, with the heavens above and the earth below, increasing for mankind... Wonderful! Simply wonderful!"
"The heavens above and the earth below" referred to the top row of beads, called "heaven beads," and the bottom row, called "earth beads." When calculating, the heaven beads were added to the earth beads, symbolizing the harmony of heaven, earth, and man—hence the expression.
However, Liu Hong noticed something he didn't understand. Pointing at Fei Qian's drawing, he asked, "Why are there two heaven beads and five earth beads?" In modern abacuses using the decimal system, the top and bottom beads are actually unnecessary. But Fei Qian had drawn them without much thought, following the modern design.
Fei Qian himself didn't know why modern abacuses included these extra beads. He simply replied, "The lower beads count as five, and the upper beads count as two, making calculations easier."
"The lower beads count as five, and the upper beads count as two..." Liu Hong nodded, then shook his head, leaving Fei Qian unsure whether he agreed or not.
In truth, Fei Qian wasn't an expert and didn't know the history of the abacus's evolution. Over time, the abacus spread from a few mathematicians to those who dealt with numbers extensively, particularly merchants. In ancient times, calculations weren't just based on the decimal system; there was also the hexadecimal system, such as the ancient measurement where one "jin" equaled sixteen "liang." To facilitate hexadecimal calculations, merchants added one heaven bead and one earth bead, making the total fifteen, which could be used for both decimal and hexadecimal systems.
Liu Hong stared intently at Fei Qian. If his earlier intention to take Fei Qian as a disciple had been casual, he now genuinely considered it. This young man was not only skilled in mathematics but had also improved the abacus Liu Hong had spent so much time developing in just a moment. How could Cai Yong have gotten to him first?
Cai Yong, standing nearby, noticed something as well. After some thought, he said, "Zi Yuan (Fei Qian) is my new disciple. Although he has already entered my school, we haven't yet held a formal ceremony. Tomorrow happens to be the autumn session at the Imperial Academy. Why don't we hold the ceremony then? Yuanzhuo (Liu Hong), if you have time, would you like to attend?"
In the Han Dynasty, the Imperial Academy typically admitted new students in the spring and autumn, known as the spring and autumn sessions. The academy had been closed for a time due to the Partisan Prohibitions but was reopened after Emperor Ling of Han rehabilitated the partisans.
Liu Hong glanced at Cai Yong, nodded, and sighed. "Of course, I'll attend." Now there was no hope—this young man was officially Cai Yong's disciple. He couldn't be taken away. But still, he chuckled to himself.
Seeing Liu Hong's agreement, Cai Yong said no more and instructed Fei Qian to prepare for the ceremony the next day, ensuring he wouldn't be late. Fei Qian then left the Cai residence.
As he walked out, Fei Qian still couldn't quite believe it. In just a few days, it seemed he had leveled up?
Cai Yong had told him to prepare for the ceremony. What did that entail? Naturally, it meant preparing the gifts for the teacher, which signified that after the ceremony at the Imperial Academy the next day, Fei Qian would no longer be a "provisional" disciple but a true disciple of Cai Yong.
Happiness had come so suddenly...
However, Fei Qian suddenly thought of a problem and felt a headache coming on. He had originally planned to leave Luoyang in a few days under the pretext of studying in Jingxiang. But now that Cai Yong had taken him as a disciple, using that reason would be laughable. How else could he leave Luoyang?
If he couldn't leave, how could he protect his life in the coming turmoil?
Plans always seemed to fall apart in the face of change. What should he do now?
******************
In truth, Fei Qian wasn't the only one with troubles.
Yuan Wei was another. After Yuan Shao resigned and left, Yuan Wei was also deeply troubled.
Yuan Shao's departure was tantamount to exposing the internal strife between the legitimate and illegitimate branches of the Yuan family to the world. While such conflicts were inevitable in every noble family, most handled them quietly within the family. Rarely did anyone make it as public as Yuan Shao had.
And the most critical point was that someone had taken advantage of it.
That brute Dong Zhuo had actually appointed that rebellious son as the Governor of Bohai! This was clearly an attempt to pit the two Yuan sons against each other. Unfortunately, Yuan Wei couldn't say a word against it.
The Yuan family had always presented itself as prioritizing the nation's welfare, serving as a model of integrity. Now, Dong Zhuo, in the name of the court, declared that although Yuan Shao had made minor mistakes, he was still capable and thus appointed him as Governor of Bohai to protect the people, eliminate bandits, and redeem himself...
Every angle was covered. What could Yuan Wei say? Refuse to let Yuan Shao take the position? On what grounds? That the Yuan family's descendants were incompetent? That they didn't want to serve the court? That they wouldn't allow him to redeem himself? Or should he immediately issue a warrant for Yuan Shao's arrest and chase him down?
Although Yuan Wei secretly wished Dong Zhuo would actually pursue Yuan Shao, Han Dynasty law explicitly stated that it was reasonable and legal for relatives to conceal each other's crimes. Could Yuan Wei really defy Han law and carry out a "righteous execution" of his own kin?
In the Han Dynasty, "righteous execution" wasn't a commendable term. Did the Yuan family's reputation not matter? So, Yuan Wei had no choice but to swallow his pride and accept it.
However, letting Dong Zhuo and Li Ru sow discord within the Yuan family was something Yuan Wei couldn't accept. After much thought, he ordered his servants to summon Yuan Shu.
Since they could no longer hide it, they might as well lay everything out openly! Let the world see the magnanimity of the Yuan family, with its four generations of three dukes!