The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

The morning mist had not yet dissipated.

The bluestone path outside the academy gate was damp.

Wang Shao walked into the courtyard, stepping through the morning dew.

His cloth shoes were soaked, and there were a few specks of mud on his trouser legs.

Jiang Lin was sitting on the veranda, holding a bowl of steaming hot soy milk in his hands.

"Headmaster."

Wang Shao stood at the bottom of the steps, his voice very low.

"Three different groups of people were involved last night."

Jiang Lin blew away the skin on the surface of the soy milk and took a sip.

"So diligent?"

"The first group consisted of peddlers dressed as vendors, who carried their wares on shoulder poles and sold steamed buns at the door for half an hour."

"The second group was fortune tellers, who kept loitering around the wall opposite."

"The third group was a night watchman, but I've heard his rhythm before, it's not right."

Wang Shao held up three fingers.

"They're all trained fighters."

"When the peddler switched shoulders, his lower body didn't move an inch. The fortune teller had a short blade hidden in his sleeve. As for that night watchman..."

Wang Shao paused.

"He walks silently."

Jiang Lin put down the porcelain bowl.

The porcelain base struck the stone table with a crisp sound.

"The people under the Southern King of Liao are indeed not to be trifled with."

He pulled a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his mouth.

"Since they want to see it so much, we have to set up the stage."

Jiang Lin stood up and stretched.

The joints made a soft crackling sound.

"Summon Shen Kuo."

Half an hour later.

A loud bang suddenly came from the backyard of the Gewu Institute.

This was immediately followed by Shen Kuo's exaggerated exclamation.

"Heavenly Fire! This is the power of Heavenly Fire!"

Thick smoke billowed into the air.

The smoke had an eerie color, tinged with yellowish-green, and carried a pungent sulfurous smell.

Several startled crows fluttered their wings and took flight from the large trees on the outer wall of the academy.

In the alley outside the wall.

A man who was squatting on the ground repairing shoes suddenly stopped what he was doing.

He lowered the brim of his hat, his gaze passing through the crowd, fixed on the strange plume of smoke rising above the academy.

The academy gates were wide open.

Several servants carried heavy wooden boxes in and out.

The box was sealed with the words "extremely dangerous" written on it.

Qian Duoduo stood at the door, directing the moving.

"Be gentle! Be gentle!"

"This is full of potent oil and saltpeter from the Western Regions! Even the slightest bump or scratch and we're all doomed!"

He has a very loud voice; you can hear him halfway down the street.

The shoemaker's breathing became rapid.

He quickly packed up his stall, turned around, and disappeared into the alley next to him.

Jiang Lin stood on the second-floor corridor of the library.

He held the rough bamboo tube in his hand, watching the shoemaker's hurried departure through his glasses.

In the center of the field of vision, the shoemaker walked very fast, and deliberately chose to walk in the shade where there were few people.

"The fish has taken the bait."

Jiang Lin put down the bamboo tube and gently stroked the rough edges of the lens tube with his fingers.

Su Shi peeked out from the shadows behind him, revealing half of his head.

He looked completely puzzled.

"Headmaster, where did our academy get this kerosene? Isn't that box full of leftover rotten cabbage from the cafeteria last time?"

Jiang Lin glanced back at him.

"Make the empty appear real, and the real appear empty."

"The Liao people are suspicious. The more we try to hide it, the more suspicious they'll become. Now that we're making a big fuss about it, they'll be more likely to believe us halfway."

Su Shi scratched his head.

"And what about the other half?"

"Their other half is up to their imagination."

Jiang Lin's lips curled into a smile.

"Intelligent people are most easily misled by their own intelligence. Since they believe I'm working on a 'national strategic asset,' they'll interpret everything they see in that direction."

"Go and tell Shen Kuo."

"Make him run around the yard in the afternoon with that bamboo tube, chanting things like 'From a thousand miles away, I'll take someone's head.'"

Su Shi shivered.

"Headmaster, are you trying to ruin them?"

……

Two days later.

Yuelai Inn, in the east of the city.

This is an inconspicuous foot shop, frequented mostly by peddlers and laborers.

The windows of the main room in the backyard were tightly closed.

The room was dimly lit.

Six men sat around a square table.

The leader was a burly man with a hideous scar on his left cheek that extended all the way to behind his ear.

His name is Xiao Yuanshan, codename "Azure Wolf".

The elite scouts under the command of the Southern Privy Councilor of the Liao Dynasty.

"Is it confirmed?"

The wolf's voice was hoarse, carrying a cold, hard quality, like the clanging of metal.

"Confirmed."

A thin man took out a sketch from his pocket and spread it on the table.

"The supplies coming in and out of the academy these past two days have been noticeably unusual. There are large quantities of sulfur and saltpeter, as well as some metal pipes that we've never seen before."

He pointed and gestured on the sketch.

"The most crucial one is Shen Kuo."

"I saw it with my own eyes. He was holding a strange bamboo tube and gesturing towards the sky, chanting something like 'clairvoyance' and 'divine power.'"

The wolf narrowed its one eye slightly.

My fingers tapped unconsciously on the table.

"clairvoyance……"

"If the Great Song Dynasty truly creates this, the whereabouts of our Great Liao cavalry on the grasslands will be nowhere to be found."

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Everyone understands what this means.

"There are orders from above."

The wolf surveyed its surroundings, its gaze sharp as a knife.

"We must obtain the blueprints for that 'clairvoyance' at all costs."

"If we can't get it..."

He flipped his wrist, and the hilt of the knife spun around in his palm.

"Let Jiang Lin really die once."

Above the roof beam.

A gray mouse crawled past silently.

Inside that thin layer of floor slab.

A human ear was pressed tightly against the wooden board, allowing him to hear the conversation below clearly.

That night.

The academy, the headmaster's study.

The candlelight flickered.

Wang Shao stood in front of the desk and reported the information he had gathered in detail.

"The Gray Wolf".

Jiang Lin repeated the name, his fingers lightly tracing lines on the rice paper.

"It seems that the Deputy Privy Councilor is really desperate, daring to let even someone like that into the heart of the Song Dynasty."

"Chief, they're about to make their move."

Wang Shao's hand rested on the hilt of the knife, his knuckles turning slightly white from the pressure.

"Should we strike first? I'll take my men and raid that inn tonight."

"no."

Jiang Lin flatly refused.

"Killing these dogs won't stop the Liao from sending wolves. What we need to do is not kill people, but destroy their spirit."

He picked up his pen and dipped it in thick ink.

Write a line of characters on the Xuan paper.

"Wang Shao, do you have a way to get the message to the merchant caravans in the Liao Kingdom?"

Wang Shao nodded.

"There are several hidden lines, which are usually used to move horses."

"very good."

Jiang Lin folded the Xuan paper and stuffed it into the envelope.

"Spread this message."

"It is said that someone in the Privy Council of the Great Song Dynasty secretly colluded with the Southern King of the Liao Dynasty, intending to create friction on the border in order to gain merit, and even went so far as to assassinate important officials of the Great Song Dynasty and provoke war between the two countries."

Wang Shao's pupils contracted slightly.

"This...this is a counter-espionage plot?"

"Emperor Yelü Hongji of Liao is currently looking for a reason to weaken the Southern Prince's military power. If he finds out that someone is pulling these kinds of tricks behind his back..."

Jiang Lin sneered.

"Who doesn't know how to use someone else to do their dirty work?"

"That deputy privy councilor wanted to use the Liao people's sword to kill me, so I will use the Liao emperor's sword to cut off his henchmen."

Wang Shao took the envelope, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

This move is a hundred times more vicious than killing someone directly.

"Go."

Jiang Lin waved his hand.

Wang Shao bowed and turned to disappear into the darkness.

Silence returned to the study.

The only sound was the faint crackling of a burning candle.

Jiang Lin did not go to sleep.

He spread out a new sheet of letter paper.

This time, he wrote to the current emperor, Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen.

Some things can be kept secret from the world, but not from that kind-hearted person sitting on the dragon throne.

Especially sensitive topics such as Liao Dynasty spies.

The pen tip scratched across the paper.

The handwriting is neat and powerful, penetrating the paper.

I'm halfway through writing this.

The wind outside the window has stopped.

The swaying shadows of the trees suddenly froze on the window paper.

That shadow didn't look like a tree branch.

It's more like the outline of a person.

Jiang Lin's hands did not stop.

Even the frequency of his breathing remained unchanged.

He kept his head down, focused on every word he wrote.

He simply moved his left hand quietly under the table.

There was a miniature crossbow tethered there.

That was the one Shen Kuo had just improved a few days ago. It wasn't very powerful, but it was enough to pierce a throat within five steps.

A very slight rubbing sound came from the window paper.

It looks like someone is gently scratching with their fingernail.

A tiny hole appeared in the window paper.

An eye peered in.

Those were bloodshot eyes, gleaming with a ferocious, beast-like light.

Jiang Lin finished writing the last character.

Put down the pen.

He didn't look up, but spoke softly to the hole.

"Since you're here, why not come in and have a cup of tea?"

The breathing outside the window suddenly stopped.

next second.

A cold glint appeared.

A thin, soft sword, as thin as a cicada's wing, silently pierced through the window paper, heading straight for Jiang Lin's throat.