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

The night was deathly still.

Yelü Abaoji lay on the horse's back, his heart pounding like a drum in his chest.

As the ace commander of the Liao army's "Iron Forest Cavalry," he was confident that this battle was won. The Song army's scouts were wandering aimlessly on the main road ten miles away, while this ancient riverbed, abandoned for a hundred years, was a blind spot known only to wolves.

"Three more miles."

Yelü Abaoji licked his chapped lips, his eyes filled with bloodlust.

Just three miles away is the Qingshizhai granary. If it were set on fire, tens of thousands of Song soldiers at Yanmen Pass would be starving and crying for their fathers.

Two thousand iron cavalry, their horses' hooves wrapped in cloth, their men gagged, glided at high speed through the darkness like a group of ghosts.

Nearly.

Two miles.

One mile.

The stockade walls were pitch black, without a single ghost in sight.

"A bunch of pigs, still fast asleep!" Yelü Abaoji's lips curled into a cruel smile. He spurred his horse, drew his scimitar, and shouted, "My men, tonight we'll have an extra meal! Kill—"

"collapse--!!"

A piercing string note abruptly tore through the air.

Yelü Abaoji's sinister smile froze on his face.

The adjutant beside him didn't even utter a sound. His head snapped back, and a steel crossbow bolt pierced through his left eye and emerged from the back of his head, spraying a mixture of red and white blood directly onto Yelü Abaoji's face.

Hot.

"enemy……"

Before the word "attack" could even be uttered, countless torches instantly lit up the originally pitch-black cliffs all around!

In an instant, it was as bright as day.

Yelü Abaoji looked up in horror and saw that the cliffs on both sides were densely packed with Song crossbowmen. They looked down at him from their high vantage point, their crossbows gleaming with a chilling light that sent shivers down his spine.

How could this be considered a sneak attack?

This is like sticking your face out to be slapped!

"put!"

A loud shout came from the mountaintop, without any attempt to persuade him to surrender or any further words.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—"

The arrows rained down like a waterfall of steel, crashing down on us.

The ancient riverbed was narrow, and the two thousand Liao soldiers, crammed together, were practically sitting ducks. Screams erupted instantly, warhorses neighed, and men fell like wheat being harvested.

"Impossible! It's so dark, and so far away! How could you possibly see it?!"

Yelü Abaoji frantically swung his sword to deflect the arrows, his eye cracking open. He realized that no matter which direction he tried to break through, the rain of arrows would accurately cover him.

It was as if a pair of heavenly eyes were hanging above their heads, coldly watching their every move.

This is a massacre.

One-sided massacre.

……

Fifteen minutes later.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of blood.

Zhao De, stepping through the bloody mud, kicked Yelü Abaoji, whose face was covered in blood, to the ground.

"I refuse to accept this!!"

The Liao commander, his eyes bloodshot, stared intently at the civil official in blue robes behind Zhao De, shouting hoarsely, "Sorcery! This is sorcery! What evil god have you summoned?!"

Wang Shao ignored him.

He was holding a piece of clean white silk and carefully wiping a brass cylinder in his hand.

"witchcraft?"

Wang Shao paused slightly, lifted his eyelids, and looked at me with a gaze as cold as a thousand-year-old icy pool: "If it's sorcery, you should find a shaman to perform a ritual, not ask me."

As he spoke, he raised the brass cylinder, glanced at a crow in the distance, and then put it back into his sleeve with satisfaction.

"That's called science."

Zhao De grinned, revealing a set of white teeth that made him look particularly ferocious: "Did you hear that? This is science! Hanging your head on a flagpole is also science!"

"Drag him away and chop him up!"

"yes!"

The guards, like wolves and tigers, dragged away the howling Yelü Abaoji.

Zhao De rubbed his hands together, immediately adopting a fawning expression as he approached Wang Shao, his eyes fixed on the copper pipe: "Old Wang, this treasure... can you get some more for the brothers? It's fucking amazing, it can see even the nose hairs of a Liao dog from miles away!"

"That's all."

Wang Shao locked the telescope into a sandalwood box and straightened his clothes: "Mr. Jiang said this thing is expensive. Want to equip the entire army with it? That depends on whether the imperial court will provide the funding."

……

Three days later, in Bianjing.

"Great news! A resounding victory at Yanmen Pass! The elite Liaodong Iron Forest Cavalry has been completely annihilated! Zero casualties!"

The urgent message, traveling 800 li, rushed into the imperial city.

Inside the Chuigong Hall, Zhao Zhen was so excited that he slammed his fist on the armrests of the dragon throne, making a deafening noise.

"Good! Good! My Great Song Dynasty has finally stood up for itself!"

Emperor Zhao Zhen was beaming and about to issue an edict of reward when the Minister of Revenue stepped forward with a bitter expression.

"Your Majesty...you have won, but what about the silver..."

The old minister held the account book, looking as if his father had just died. "Urgent report from Yanmen Pass: maintaining the modern war preparations requires an additional 100,000 strings of cash in military spending. Add to that the rewards and pensions... the national treasury is truly going to be empty."

Zhao Zhen's smile froze instantly.

It's like the bride suddenly pulling out a huge IOU right after entering the bridal chamber.

No money.

These two words represent the eternal pain of the Song Dynasty.

……

Jingshi Academy.

Su Shi rushed in, covered in sweat, grabbed the teapot, and gulped down a lot of tea.

"Chief! The situation is extremely urgent!"

Su Shi slammed his teapot down. "The front lines have been won, but those misers in the Ministry of Revenue are starting to cry poverty! Without cash, all subsequent plans will fall through! You said before that we didn't need to hoard grain, and now that grain prices have stabilized, where will the money come from?"

Jiang Lin sat in a grand chair, toying with an extremely flashy object in his hand.

It's also a telescope.

But unlike the simple military version in Wang Shao's hands, this one was practically the epitome of nouveau riche. It was made of sandalwood, carved with dragons and phoenixes, inlaid with jade at both ends, wrapped in gold, and adorned with a ruby ​​the size of a pigeon's egg.

"What's the panic?"

Jiang Lin tossed the glittering object to Su Shi, saying, "Take a look at this."

Su Shi hurriedly caught it, and after taking a closer look, his brows furrowed deeply: "This... why is it a bit blurry? It's making me dizzy, far less clear than Wang Shao's!"

"nonsense."

Jiang Lin blew on the tea froth, a sly smile playing on his lips. "Shen Kuo went to great lengths to make the lenses look 'blurry.' That's called a 'soft focus filter,' which is basically a 'beauty filter,' understand?"

Su Shi looked completely bewildered: "Huh?"

"The military version emphasizes clarity and durability. The civilian version you have here emphasizes expensiveness, elegance, and luxury."

Jiang Lin stood up, looking down at the bustling city of Bianjing, his eyes flashing with the cold light of a capitalist sickle.

"What I'm selling isn't a telescope, it's status, it's prestige, it's a ticket to high society."

He slapped a piece of paper at Su Shi—a "Marketing Plan for High-End Luxury Goods".

"Zizhan, I've booked the entire Fanlou restaurant for tomorrow night."

"Go and post an invitation to all the imperial relatives, nobles, and wealthy merchants in the capital. Tell them that Grand Scholar Su is inviting everyone tonight to watch Chang'e take a bath."

Su Shi: "???"