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

The back hall of the government office in Daming Prefecture.

"Bang!"

A valuable Ru ware teacup was smashed to the ground and shattered into countless pieces.

Zhao Liben's chest heaved violently, and his well-maintained face was now contorted with ferocious rage. His eyes were bloodshot, like a wild beast driven to the brink of despair.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" He pointed at the prefectural magistrate and several of his cronies kneeling below the hall, cursing, "Overnight! This absurd rumor has spread throughout the entire city! What are you all good for?!"

The people kneeling below the hall were all silent and trembling, not daring to raise their heads.

"Your Excellency, please calm down," the prefect said tremblingly. "I have already sent people to investigate. The rumor originated from the 'Bai Le Wa She' in the south of the city."

"The storyteller has been arrested, but he says the manuscript was given to him by someone else, and he doesn't know who that person is."

"Don't know?" Zhao Liben laughed angrily. "So you say you don't know! Then beat him! Beat him to death! Beat him until he finds out!"

"Yes, yes..."

"And another thing!" Zhao Liben took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, but the killing intent in his voice remained undiminished. "Where's Xue Gang? Any news about the men we sent out?"

A captain in charge of city defenses replied with a forced smile, "Reporting to...Reporting to my lord, not yet. Captain Xue...Captain Xue and the others seem to have...disappeared."

"Missing?" Zhao Liben's eyelids twitched suddenly, and a strong sense of unease surged into his heart.

Xue Gang was highly skilled in martial arts and ruthless. How could he have disappeared while leading dozens of elite men to chase after a few escapees?

The only explanation is that something happened to them.

Is it...

A terrifying thought flashed through Zhao Liben's mind. Could it be that Jiang Lin and his gang really had the ability to kill Xue Gang?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Zhao Liben shook his head, banishing the absurd idea from his mind. He preferred to believe that Xue Gang had simply gone too far and gotten temporarily lost.

But this incident, combined with the rumors circulating in the city, forced him to become wary.

The rumors were incredibly accurate. Blackwater mines, slaves… these were his most core secrets. Besides himself, only a few absolute confidants knew these secrets.

Now, these secrets have been turned into stories and are being sung in the streets and alleys.

This means that his secret has been leaked!

It was Jiang Lin and his gang! It must have been them! They not only escaped from the mine, but also took something they shouldn't have!

Ledger!

The thought of those two words made Zhao Liben feel as if his heart was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

If the ledger really falls into Jiang Lin's hands, then he's finished. No, not just him, but everyone involved in the ledger, from high-ranking officials in the court to generals on the border, will be doomed!

No! This absolutely cannot be allowed to happen!

Zhao Liben's eyes instantly turned incredibly fierce. He knew that now it was a matter of life or death, or the net breaking. Any hesitation or wishful thinking would lead to his utter destruction.

"Pass on my orders!" he shouted sternly.

The crowd below perked up and looked up in unison.

"First!" Zhao Liben held up one finger. "Close all city gates immediately! Martial law throughout the city! Not even a fly is allowed to leave without my order!"

"Second! Mobilize all the yamen runners and the city defense troops for a city-wide search! Tell them that a notorious bandit has entered the city, and search every house! Every inn, residence, theater, brothel—nowhere that can hide a person should be overlooked!"

"Third!" His gaze swept over his trusted confidants. "You lot, personally lead the team and dig out that top scholar named Su Shi and that former Vice Minister of Revenue named Jin Wanliang! Live or dead, I want to see them!"

"Fourth!" Zhao Liben's voice was extremely low, filled with a sinister chill. "Post notices stating that Jiang Lin, Su Shi, and others are spies sent by the Khitan, intending to overthrow our Great Song Dynasty. Anyone providing clues will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver! Anyone who captures or kills them will be rewarded with one thousand taels of silver!"

"hiss--"

Everyone in the hall gasped in astonishment.

They all understood. Zhao Liben was about to completely break off all pretense of civility.

Lockdown, manhunt, warrants... With these three measures, even if Jiang Lin and his cronies have extraordinary abilities, they won't be able to escape.

The last point, in particular, directly labeled Jiang Lin and his group as "Khitan spies." Once this charge is confirmed, there will be no chance of them ever being exonerated.

At that time, even if Zhao Liben were to kill them in the street, no one would utter a single word of disapproval; they would even be regarded as heroes who rid the people of a scourge.

How ruthless! How vicious!

"Did you all understand?" Zhao Liben looked around at everyone, his eyes like knives.

"We...we understand!" everyone replied quickly.

"Then get on with it!" Zhao Liben waved his hand impatiently. "Remember, this matter is doomed to fail! Anyone who messes it up will come back to me with their head!"

"yes!"

Everyone felt as if they had been granted a pardon and scrambled out of the room.

In the empty back room, only Zhao Liben remained.

He slowly walked to the window, looked at the soldiers rushing by outside, and a crazy smile appeared on his face.

Jiang Lin, Su Shi... Do you think you can bring me down with some underhanded methods?

too naive!

In this Daming Prefecture, I am Heaven! I am the Law!

If I kill you all and burn the ledgers, who will know what I've done?

Once the storm has passed, I will still be the powerful and respected Prefect Zhao.

He could almost see Jiang Lin and the others being hacked to death, their bodies thrown into a mass grave to be fed to dogs.

He slowly walked back to the table and poured himself another cup of tea. This time, his hand was as steady as a mountain.

He believed that he would receive good news soon.

However, what he didn't know was that his crazy actions were pushing him step by step into an abyss of no return.