"Master Zhou, can you tell me how many disciples and sages there are under Confucius?" Wang Yuan asked with a smile.

Everyone at the table was stunned, is this kind of question also called a problem? Even these generals who haven't read much know the answer to this question, not to mention Zhou De'an, who is indeed a little talented.

Zhou Dean was surprised at first, and then laughed and said, "Vice Marshal Wang, are you joking?" This is a question that goes to a private school and asks a child as young as six or seven years old, and they all know it. ”

Wang Yuan said solemnly: "Of course it's not that simple, I just asked if you know, you know it, you answer, if you don't know, you don't answer, where is so much nonsense." ”

Zhou Dean sneered: "There are three thousand disciples of Confucius and seventy-two sages. I can tell the deeds of the famous people among his disciples to the deputy marshal Wang. ”

Wang Yuan waved his hand and said, "I'm not interested in hearing their names." You answered very well. Then the real question is that among the seventy-two sage disciples of Confucius. How many adults are there and how many teenagers are not under the weak crown? ”

The generals were stunned, and Zhou Dean was also stunned, frowning and said, "What kind of problem is this?" There is no record of this matter, how will future generations know about it? The question asked by Vice Marshal Wang was really strange. Whether I can answer a random number, Vice-Marshal Wang doesn't know the answer anyway. ”

Wang Yuan reprimanded: "Presumptuous. If you can't answer, you admit defeat, but you come to talk about it. I know the answer, and I will convince you. Who says there is no record? I can tell you that the answer lies in the 15,900 words of the Analects. You yourself are stupid, but you have come to praise me. ”

Zhou De'an frowned, and when he heard Wang Yuan say that the answer was in the 15,900 words of the Analects, he immediately pondered and silently recited the entire Analects. Wang Yuan knew that he was chanting silently from beginning to end, but he didn't urge, he just stood with a smile on his hands, and looked at the blue sky outside the hall.

The generals in the hall were silent, and those who had read the Analects and remembered the full text of the Analects began to recite them silently, trying to find the answers in them. Those who didn't want to use their brains, such as Liu Dehai and others, looked at Zhou De'an's sad face with a hippie smile, and pointed at each other to make fun of him.

Not long after, Zhou Dean sighed and said in a deep voice: "Vice Marshal Wang." ”

Wang Yuan turned his head and smiled, "Does Master Zhou know the answer?" ”

Zhou Dean shook his head and said: "There is no solution to this question, I silently recited the entire Analects, and none of them mentioned how many of the seventy-two sage disciples were adults and how many were young people. The deputy marshal is making fun of me. ”

Wang Yuan said coldly: "Funny to you? You can't help but think highly of yourself. You think very highly of yourself, but you don't think much of it in my eyes, and I don't have time to make fun of you. If you can't answer, just admit it, and you don't have to make excuses for yourself. ”

Zhou De'an's quick "Analects" recited silently again, and made sure that there was no answer at all, so he said categorically: "I can't answer, please give advice to Vice Marshal Wang." ”

Wang Yuan sneered: "As I expected, I boast that I am full of economy, but in fact, I don't want to understand anything, what is the use of studying?" ”

Zhou Dean said angrily: "Vice Marshal Wang knows the answer, why don't you say it and teach me to be convinced." In which section of the Analects is the answer? ”

Wang Yuan said: "You are reciting like a stream, don't you know the "Sitting" chapter? ”

Zhou Dean was surprised: ""Sitting"? What's the answer? ”

Wang Yuan said with his hand: "Those who are in the twilight of spring, the spring clothes are completed, there are five or six champions, six or seven children, bathing in Yi, dancing in the wind, and returning with a song." Isn't that clear? ”

Zhou Dean frowned and said, "How many adults and how many young people are among the seventy-two sages?" ”

Wang Yuan reprimanded: "Stupid, there are five or six champions, how many are five or six people?" ”

Zhou Dean said dumbfounded: "Five or six people." ”

"Fool, five or six means five six, five six or thirty, thirty people. There are five or six crowns, which means that there are thirty adult disciples who have reached the weak crown. ”

"Huh?" Including Zhou De'an, the generals on the table also had their mouths half open and were sluggish.

In the same way, a boy is a young man, and there are six or seven boys, and six or seven forty-two, which means that there are forty-two young people who are minors. Thirty plus forty-two is seventy-two, and the number is just right. Isn't that the answer clear. Among the seventy-two disciples, are thirty of the adults and forty-two of the young? Wang Yuan said eloquently.

Zhou De'an's jaw almost dropped, this "Sitting" chapter clearly meant five or six adults and six or seven young people, but it turned out to be this explanation in Wang Yuan's mouth. But the total number of people adds up to exactly seventy-two, which is really evil. Even Zhou Dean himself began to wonder if this really meant the age of the seventy-two sages implied in the Analects.

"Master Zhou, are you convinced? What's the use of the back of the rolling melon? To read a book, you need to read it and understand the deep meaning of it. I think of you who memorize the subset of scriptures and histories well, but I don't know how many readers in the book I don't know. Grab a lot of them in Chang'an City. I now understand why you came to Nanzhao Kingdom, you must have fallen first in my Tang Dynasty Imperial Examination, so you came to Nanzhao Kingdom to fool these barbarians. What do you say, 'I only sell my talents to those who know the goods', and blow the atmosphere, what are your talents? ”

Wang Yuan wantonly ridiculed Zhou De'an, and Zhou De'an was about to explode angrily, but he couldn't attack. Because he really didn't answer, and Wang Yuan's answer seemed absurd, but it was clearly explained. I always felt that it was not like that, but I couldn't refute it.

Wang Yuan's words also hit his weakness. It was precisely because he tried for a long time that he became resentful, blaming the court for being blind, and complaining that he left Chang'an because he did not meet his talents. All the way to the Nanzhao Kingdom, it happened that the then Nanzhao Lord Pi Luo Ge was friendly with the Tang Dynasty, and was extensively learning various cultural etiquettes and prophecies of the Tang Dynasty. Zhou Dean relied on his ability to make Pi Luo Ge dizzy, so he asked him to stay by his side to assist in the cultural exchange with the Tang Dynasty, and awarded him the title of Hanlin Bachelor.

"You...... You are misinterpreting the original meaning, and it is not what you said in the "Sitting" chapter at all. Wrong wrong. Zhou Dean refused to admit defeat, and still argued.

"Zifei Fish, Anzhi Fish, the joy of fish? Your interpretation is right, my interpretation is wrong, who do you think you are? Did you write the Analects? Wang Yuan asked coldly.

Zhou Dean was speechless again, and opened his mouth to stammer: "All in all, all in all, it's not right, if you don't believe it, ask the people who read the world, who will agree with your explanation?" ”

Wang Yuan sneered: "If you want to ask, I don't have that much spare time." If we are arguing today, your argument will be reasonable, and my argument will be unreasonable? That's a joke. ”

Liu Jun said sharply: "The surname Zhou, if you lose, you lose, and no matter how much you quibble, it's useless." Was everything you said before all fart? If you don't pay your bills, I won't agree. Believe it or not, I'll shoot you in the hole. ”

"Throw in the towel, throw in the towel." The generals followed with the shouting and slapping the table and the bench.

Zhou De'an's face was red, he was ashamed and afraid, and he covered his face with his sleeves and was silent.

Wang Yuan waved his hand to silence everyone, looked at Zhou Dean with a smile and said, "Master Zhou, the real talent and learning are not like you who show off everywhere. And although you have a talent for sophistry, you are also very ordinary. It's not me who strikes you, you love sophistry, I'll give you another chance to sophistry. This time, we will not talk about the subset of scripture and history, but only the simplest things to argue. If you win, I'll count you happy, what? ”

Zhou Dean nodded and agreed, but after all, he felt that this seemed too shameless, so he didn't refuse or agree, just remained silent.

Wang Yuan said: "I only acquiesce to you, I, Wang Yuan, have never beaten people to death with a stick, so I will give you this opportunity." Listen, here comes the problem again. Very simple question. What do you see here? ”

Wang Yuan stretched out his hand and picked up something from the dishes on the table and brought it to Zhou De'an's eyes.

"This ...... Isn't it just an egg? ”

"The answer is correct, I didn't say duck eggs or goose eggs, and my eyesight is good." Wang Yuan teased.

Zhou Dean endured Wang Yuan's ridicule and did not answer.

"This is the egg, and what I'm asking is, do you think the chicken comes first or the egg comes first?"

"......" Everyone was speechless, but Zhou Dean opened his mouth but found that he couldn't answer this question.

"Don't say there's no answer to that question, I have the answer here, and I can explain why. You can't guess, and if you can't explain it, you'll still lose. Wang Yuan said with a smile.

The chicken or the egg first, this question is an unsolvable problem, how can Zhou Dean not know? If the answer is that there are chickens first, Wang Yuan will ask how to hatch chickens without eggs? Vice versa. Zhou Dean didn't intend to think about this question seriously at all, because he knew that there was no answer.

"I can't answer, but I have to ask Vice Marshal Wang." Zhou Dean said.

All the generals also looked at Wang Yuan dumbfounded, waiting for Wang Yuan to say the answer and reason, because they all wanted to know.

Wang Yuan threw the eggs back on the plate and said with a smile: "Let me tell you, of course the chickens come first." ”

"Why?" Without waiting for Zhou Dean to ask, Li Mi stroked his white beard and stretched his neck to ask questions.

"What question I just asked, can anyone repeat it for me?" Wang Yuandao.

Liu Jun said crisply: "What my father-in-law asked: chicken first or egg first?" ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "It's word for word, and my memory is good." Eggs, eggs, of course, chickens come first, eggs come last. The egg comes first, and the chicken comes last, which is not called an egg, but a laying hen. ”

"Huh?" Everyone's eyes fell to the ground, and they were busy reaching out to the ground to scoop out the eyeballs and stuff them into their eyes. This explanation is simply shameless, and it is a set of tricks from the time the question is asked, and the explanation of this unsolvable topic is given in such a simple and nonsensical way, which really makes people laugh and cry.

"You're sophistry, she's sophistry." Zhou Dean said angrily.

"It's supposed to be sophistry, and I made it clear at the beginning that you would let you play your sophistic talents, but you didn't make a name for yourself in sophistry. It can be seen that you are not even able to do sophistry, and you still boast very highly, and I don't know where your self-confidence comes from. I'm just teaching you to be sober and sober. I don't care who you work for, but if you play in front of me, I'm going to beat you back to where you were. That's it, I've lost interest in you, so let's tell me quickly, what conditions did Ge Luofeng make for me to spare his Nanzhao Kingdom. ”

Wang Yuan was so excited that he returned to his seat and sat down, not even looking at Zhou De'an.