After swapping bodies with the princess, this prince slaughtered his way through the court and becam

Outside the Ministry of Agriculture, a group of craftsmen were using black ropes to measure various data of a wooden wheel.

Not far away, several agricultural officials who knew divination were using abacuses to calculate the center of a circle.

The method of making wooden wheels in the Great Wei Dynasty was very simple, but also very practical.

As the saying goes, "A straight piece of wood can be bent into a wheel."

The method of making wooden wheels in the Great Wei Dynasty was to fix one end of a wooden rope to the center of the circle and then draw a circle with the other end.

This is also why the craftsmen of the Ministry of Agriculture were not allowed to move the wooden wheels.

Because the wooden wheel moved, the center point could no longer be found.

Ren Jingxing randomly found two craftsmen and had them carry the spokes into the wooden wheel.

The other craftsmen frowned upon seeing this.

"What are you doing here? We're busy here."

"Get out of here!"

The craftsman carrying the spokes pointed at Ren Jingxing and said:

"It was Prince Ren who let us in."

Upon hearing that Ren Jingxing had arrived, the other craftsmen all showed joy on their faces.

"The Crown Prince has arrived!"

"Great! I've got an idea!"

It's no wonder they blindly trusted Ren Jingxing, after all, it was Ren Jingxing who came up with the idea for the waterwheel.

The officials from the Ministry of Revenue who were calculating the data also came over upon hearing this.

What does that mean?

Before they could even calculate the result, the Ministry of Agriculture had already found a solution?

A female official wearing an official hat walked over, frowned, and asked:

"My lord, what does this mean?"

"We were measuring and calculating here, why did they chase our people away?"

"The Crown Prince is here; he has a plan."

Upon hearing this, the female official frowned and looked to the side.

Although Ren Jingxing was famous in the capital, he was still too unfamiliar to the female officials who were engrossed in studying divination.

"Young master, do you have a way to find the center of a circle without measuring or calculating?"

Ren Jingxing nodded:

"Of course, what's so difficult about that?"

The female official was taken aback at first, then her face darkened.

They painstakingly measured and calculated here.

Ren Jingxing replied, "What's so difficult about that?"

Isn't this a slap in their face?

"Hmph, then I'll wait and see!"

Ren Jingxing ordered two craftsmen to attach the spokes tightly to the outer circumference of the wooden wheel.

"Place the handle firmly against the outer circumference, then measure the center of the spokes!"

"Draw a perpendicular line from the center inwards!"

"The point where the two perpendicular lines intersect is the center of the circle!"

Compared to the measurement and calculation methods used by officials in the Ministry of Revenue.

Ren Jingxing's method was so simple it was almost childish.

It simply uses two spokes and two ink lines.

After holding the outer circle, find the center, draw the ink line, and you will find the theoretical center.

"That simple?"

"Is this correct?"

Ren Jingxing waved his hand:

"What's so difficult about that? Just verify it."

Ren Jingxing ordered his men to use ink lines, just like when a waterwheel was being made.

Start by fixing one end at the center, and then draw a circle from the other end.

The results are obvious.

The circle drawn using the center point found by Ren Jingxing perfectly overlaps with the current waterwheel!

Ren Jingxing found the center of the circle with just two people and without even doing any calculations!

"Found it?"

"Found it!"

"It has to be Prince Ren!"

Now, not only the artisans of the Ministry of Agriculture admired Ren Jingxing immensely.

Even the officials and arithmetic masters sent down by the Ministry of Revenue were extremely shocked.

The female official who had previously questioned Ren Jingxing blushed.

She, an official skilled in divination, was actually inferior to a spoiled young master?!

The female official walked up to Ren Jingxing, bowed respectfully, and asked:

"May I ask, Your Highness, what is the reason for this?"

Does this guarantee finding the center of the circle?

Ren Jingxing nodded and said:

"Of course, this is one of the laws of the circle."

The perpendicular bisector of every chord on a circle must pass through the center of the circle.

The intersection of the perpendicular bisectors of two non-parallel chords must be the center of the circle!

The female official quickly wrote down this rule.

Then she noticed a detail.

This Crown Prince is referring to one of the laws.

This means he also knows other laws!

"May I ask, Your Highness, are there any other laws governing the circle?"

"Of course there are. There are many laws about circles in mathematics, but we can't cover them all in a short time. Let's talk about them when we have time."

"Then this humble official thanks Your Highness."

Ren Jingxing's words were just a polite remark, but the female official remembered them well.

"I just heard that the young master Ren passed the county examination and became the top scholar. Perhaps he can become an official in the Ministry of Revenue in the future."

After all, the Ministry of Revenue had a great need for scholars skilled in divination and numerology.

Shen Shumin, who had come with Ren Jingxing, had long been wary of this female official who had taken the initiative to approach her.

Why should a mere official from the Ministry of Revenue stay so close to the Crown Prince? He should just focus on doing his job.

So Shen Shumin stepped forward and said coldly:

"The heir will pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi in the future."

The best place to become an official in the future is, of course, the Hanlin Academy!

How could they possibly go to the Ministry of Revenue first?!

The female official was taken aback; she hadn't expected to be reprimanded by the maidservant beside Ren Jingxing.

But looking at the relationship between the two and Shen Shumin's anxious appearance, she understood a bit more.

The female official smiled and said:

"I see. But this young lady need not worry."

I have no other intentions towards Prince Ren, and I would absolutely not interfere in your relationship.

After the female official finished speaking, Shen Shumin's face immediately turned bright red, as if steam could rise from it.

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

Shen Shumin hurriedly explained, but then glanced at Ren Jingxing.

Ren Jingxing did not react at all, as if he had not heard it at all.

Shen Shumin first breathed a sigh of relief, then felt somewhat disappointed.

Could it be that the young master doesn't actually like me?

Once the center of the circle was found, the installation of the waterwheel became much easier.

After the craftsmen installed the axle and spokes and prepared the base, they began the next step of their work.

The entire Ministry of Agriculture then pulled waterwheels toward the river.

The small river west of the city is called the Lotus River, which is the main water source for irrigating the farmland in that area.

At this moment, a group of people were standing in the distance, gazing at the Lotus River.

The officials on both sides of the river looked at them with arrogance.

These imperial estates and noble fields have long been irrigated.

But they just wouldn't allow the local people to come and fetch water.

The reasons are also quite valid.

What if these lowly people come to fetch water and trample on the grain in the imperial estate and noble fields?

Who will compensate us?

Should the common people pay?

The money that ordinary people earn from farming all year isn't enough to cover their losses!

Will the government compensate us?

Regardless of whether the government has money, it is helping the people and the imperial nobles to oppose them.

Ordinary officials wouldn't have this courage.

Moreover, they were also worried that the people might not uphold martial virtue.

Once the people know that the government will pay compensation, they will deliberately damage the grain on the imperial estates. What will happen then?

If things go wrong, the government will become a laughing stock!

Just then, a villager pointed in the direction of the county town to the north and shouted loudly:

"Look! People from the Ministry of Agriculture are here!"