First Episode: Acquiring Abnormal Abilities in Three Kingdoms Data...
The most brilliant period in a person's life is the time before and after the college entrance examination. At this time, you know the principles of celestial motion, organic and inorganic reactions, elliptical and hyperbolic curves, hybrid biological circles, can speak English, repair ancient texts, obtain number sequences, discuss Marxist philosophy, trace back 5,000 years of Chinese history, extend to the vast land and sea, and also know music, art, computer science, sports, folklore, and manual skills.
Nan Yan was at the peak of his career, chatting with Su and Zhang as they walked along. Physics and chemistry were not their strong suits, and Nan Yan didn't dare to discuss history or geography. The only area where the two businessmen had some insights was mathematics, but compared to Nan Yan, they were far inferior and soon found themselves stumped by the math problems he posed.
"There are 49 chickens and dogs, with a total of 100 legs on the ground. How many chickens and how many dogs are there?" A simple system of two linear equations became a complex math problem in the Three Kingdoms era when Arabic numerals were not yet available, leaving Su and Zhang stunned for half a day.
"Master Nan Yan, forty-eight chickens and one dog. Is that correct?" Su Shuang finished the calculation a step ahead of Zhang Shi Ping.
"Not bad! It's just taking too long. If we use scientific methods, it's easy to calculate." said Nan Yan.
"I haven't figured it out yet, how can it be simple?" Zhang Shiping said disbelievingly.
"If you don't believe me, try making up a similar question for me to calculate." This kind of problem can be solved with mental math.
"Alright, there are thirty chickens and dogs in total, with one hundred legs walking on the ground. The master asked how many chickens and how many dogs?" Zhang Shipei calculated slowly, but posed questions quickly.
"Simple, twenty dogs, ten chickens. Right?" Nan Yan quickly gave an answer.
"What? I just said it casually, who knew it would turn out like this?" Zhang Shiping said with a sullen expression.
"Not a single mistake! Twenty dogs with eighty legs, ten chickens with twenty legs, exactly one hundred legs. But how did Master Nan Yan calculate so quickly? Can you share this scientific method with us, we would be eternally grateful." Su Shuang exclaimed in surprise beside him.
"What's difficult about this? Let's assume the chicken is X first..."
"What does 'Shè Jī' mean in Aikes?" Su Shuang asked, puzzled.
Nan Yan listened to Su Shuang's question and knew that this explanation wouldn't work. The seemingly simple system of linear equations in two variables unexpectedly involved English letters, and after explaining the English letters, he might still need to explain the unknowns, not to mention the Arabic numerals. This would never end, so it was better to change his approach.
"Let's not talk about X for now. For this question, we can think of a different approach. Suppose all the chickens and dogs are trained, and they're right in front of us, thirty animals in total. I clap my hands once, and all the animals lift one leg up, leaving seventy legs on the ground. Then I clap again, and all the animals lift their second leg up, leaving forty legs on the ground. At this point, the two-legged chickens have flown away, so it's clear that these forty legs are dog legs, and since they're standing on two legs, there must be twenty dogs. Once we know the number of dogs, finding the number of chickens is easy."
"This... this can also work?!" Su and Zhang's mouths were wide open, and Nan Yan Fashi's brain was too out of the ordinary. However, this method really works, and both Su and Zhang felt a sense of broadened thinking.
"Nan Yan, this science is truly wonderful and cannot be put into words. I wonder if the two of us can follow you to learn about science?" Su Shuang had long thought about following Nan Yan, and after a conversation, he became even more determined in his conviction upon learning that Nan Yan was broad-minded and open.
"Master Nan Yan will take us in!" Zhang Shiping also said to Su Shuang.
"Two uncles, as long as you believe in facts and truth, that is believing in science. Truth is everywhere, the world is full of mysteries, we are all students, just learning from each other." Nan Yan himself still wanted to let Liu Bei mix and eat, how dare he cheat others?
"The master's humility is admirable, but what can we ordinary people teach the master? Please, Master, don't be modest." Su and Zhang were not as good at math as Nan Yan, but they had more experience and worldly knowledge than him. They also understood human relationships better than Nan Yan, so how could they not hear the implication of his humility?"
Nan Yan died saying that he would not accept them as apprentices, but could not withstand the soft and hard bubbles of Su and Zhang. In the end, he had no choice but to agree to take them on as nominal apprentices, observing them for a while before making a decision. Even so, Su and Zhang were overjoyed, as it was difficult for merchants to find a famous teacher in the Han Dynasty, which emphasized agriculture over commerce. The two of them treasured this opportunity greatly, showing great respect to Nan Yan along the way, completely adopting the demeanor of apprentices, making Nan Yan feel quite embarrassed.
It can be said that no work is done without receiving a salary, and being treated as an ancestor all day long. Nan Yan certainly couldn't teach nothing, so he taught Arabic numerals and the four arithmetic operations to two people, and told them not to spread it out. This was not because he was selfish, but because he still couldn't see the road ahead at this time. Mastering these advanced knowledge in his own hands might save his life one day, if the enemy learned about it, it would probably cost him his life.
Su and Zhang didn't think Nan Yan's approach was wrong. As businessmen, they knew the importance of trade secrets. According to them, if everyone could do this kind of magic, it wouldn't be called magic anymore. Although Nan Yan repeatedly emphasized that this was arithmetic, not magic, the two men refused to listen and became even more respectful towards him. The attitude of these two people directly affected their subordinates, who all treated Nan Yan as a god.
At first, Nan Yan really wasn't used to the feeling of being worshiped by others. After all, for the past 18 years, he had been listening to his parents and teachers. Now, a group of people were treating him like a master, and it took some time for him to complete this role transformation. However, humans are creatures that excel at learning, and high school students are thinking machines. Soon, Nan Yan adapted to his new identity as a master, learned how to interact with these people, and gained a lot of essential knowledge and skills from Su and Zhang, which allowed him to better integrate into this era.
Su and Zhang did not know that Nan Yan's true divine technique was not arithmetic, but rather the superpower he called "small way". Since the first day he arrived in the Three Kingdoms era, Nan Yan had been exploring his strange abilities without stopping, because these strange abilities were what truly made him different from others. At present, Nan Yan had fully grasped the true purpose of various skills, which gave him more confidence to survive in this chaotic world.
A dozen or so people were lurking on a mountain path not far from Zhuo County, their hair disheveled and wearing yellow headbands, clearly Yellow Turbans. They kept looking back and forth, seemingly waiting for someone. Before long, a man dressed in peasant clothes came running from the direction of Zhuo County.
"Second Dog, how's the scouting going?" the leader of the Yellow Turbans asked.
"Big brother, the surrounding counties of Zhuo County are recruiting soldiers. I heard that there are only about 5,000 soldiers in Zhuo County City, and they were all temporarily recruited. The city's defenders have only two mediocre leaders, Liu Yan and Zou Jing, who are not worth worrying about." Er Gou replied clearly.
"Well done! Go back and report to General Cheng, I'll give you credit for this achievement. Hmph~ How can 5,000 soldiers withstand our army of 50,000!" The Yellow Turban leader nodded in satisfaction, his more than a dozen scouts had studied the notices in the county town for several days, and were able to recognize them.
"Thanks a lot, big brother! Why don't we head back to camp now?" Er Gou couldn't wait any longer for his reward.
"Haha ~ good, we now ... wait a minute." The leader of the Yellow Turbans was about to get up and immediately fell down and said: "You guys listen, is that the sound of horseshoes?"
"Big brother, look! It seems to be a merchant group. Wow~ there are quite a few people! And not a few horses either! There are nearly a hundred of them." Er Gou was wearing ordinary civilian clothes and wasn't worried about being seen, so he tiptoed up to take a peek and saw a merchant group heading in the direction of Zhuo County.
"Haha! Now we'll get rich! Plunder them, and we can ride our horses back to camp." The Yellow Turban leader laughed.
"Big brother, there are a lot of them, and they have horses too. What if one of them runs off to report us to the authorities? We'll be in trouble then. Let's hurry back to camp, it's not worth provoking them." Er Gou said with some trepidation. These Yellow Turbans were ordinary civilians at heart, and Er Gou clearly hadn't gotten used to this kind of banditry yet.
"Fart! What's the big deal about having a few more people? We are the Yellow Turban disciples under the protection of Da Xianliang, we can't be harmed by knives and guns, what do we have to fear? Even if some of them run away, it doesn't matter, when the government troops arrive, we'll already be riding the horses we've seized and leave them to eat dirt!" The Yellow Turban leader cursed.
"That's right! What are you afraid of? Rob them!" The rest of the Yellow Turbans also jeered. Whether or not they knew that knives and guns couldn't penetrate their bodies, all they knew was that ordinary civilians feared the Yellow Turbans. Let alone a merchant caravan of several dozen people, even one with over a hundred people would be robbed without hesitation.
