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

Inside the secluded room of the inn, the doors and windows were tightly shut, not even a breath of wind could get in.

On the table, the stone, which had just been snatched from the mud, now silently emitted an eerie, ghostly green light, flickering like will-o'-the-wisps in the dim light. Li Liangzuo dismissed everyone, leaving only his trusted confidant, Yeli Yuqi. His hand trembled as he pressed his palm against the cool surface of the jade.

As the warmth of the palm was transferred, the stone seemed to come alive. The originally indistinct patterns on its bottom began to slowly flow, like red blood spreading, and finally condensed into eight ancient and vigorous seal characters.

Each word seemed to have absorbed a saturation of light from the underworld, causing Li Liangzuo's pupils to contract violently.

The first four characters are: "Those who obtain the phoenix will prosper."

Li Liangzuo's tense lips relaxed slightly, and a glint of wild joy flashed in his eyes. "Phoenix" signifies a princess; "prosperity" signifies the nation's fortune. This was clearly a divine omen—marrying the Song princess would bring prosperity to Western Xia!

"Heaven is helping me... Heaven is helping me!" he muttered to himself, eagerly looking at the second half of the sentence.

However, the moment he saw the remaining four words, the smile that had just appeared on his face froze instantly, as if frozen by extreme cold, and then cracked inch by inch, turning into endless terror and distortion.

The last four characters are "pay tribute and submit to the emperor".

"Thump!"

Li Liangzuo's knees buckled, and he almost collapsed to his knees. He staggered backward as if he had seen a ghost, his back slamming heavily against the screen.

"This...this is impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

He was panting heavily, staring intently at the eight characters, as if they were not auspicious omens, but a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

This is no blessing from heaven, it's a curse that pierces the soul!

The meaning of this "Heaven-sent Jade Seal" couldn't be clearer: if you want to obtain the princess (Phoenix) and if you want your country to prosper, the prerequisite is to pay tribute to the Song Dynasty and become its subject!

"How could this happen..." Li Liangzuo's face was deathly pale, cold sweat trickling down his forehead and dripping into his collar, leaving it icy cold.

If this were merely a man-made carving, Li Liangzuo might have drawn his sword and chopped the broken stone to pieces. But this stone was one he had personally witnessed his scouts reclaim from the chaos, and it also witnessed the various miracles of it "generating smoke upon contact with water," "revealing characters upon warmth," and "becoming like fireflies at night"...

In his understanding as an ancient person who firmly believed in the Eternal Heaven, this was not something an ordinary person could do! This was a true manifestation of Heaven! Heaven was forcing him to bow down!

"Your Majesty... what does it say?" Yeli Yuqi, seeing that his master's expression was not right, mustered up his courage and stepped forward.

When he saw the glowing words "Pay tribute and submit to the emperor," the face of this ruthless Western Xia general instantly turned ashen, worse than that of a dead man.

"This...this..." Yeli Yuqi stammered, feeling like his tongue was tied in knots, "This is going to make us the grandsons of the Song Dynasty!"

Li Liangzuo suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, his breathing rapid like a broken bellows. He rushed over and picked up the stone, intending to smash it, but his hand stopped abruptly halfway through the air.

You mustn't smash it!

This is "divine mandate"! If this miraculous stone is smashed, will it incur divine retribution? Will it shorten one's lifespan? More importantly, if this matter is reported back to Western Xia, what will those tribal leaders who were already eyeing it covetously say? Will they say that Li Liangzuo, despite having a divine mandate, does not know how to cherish it?

But if we don't smash it...

Just then, a commotion suddenly arose outside the window. The inn was located on the street, and although separated by a courtyard wall, the unrestrained chatter of the people outside still drifted in on the wind.

"Have you heard? The inscription on that stone has been deciphered! It says the Western Xia people were born to be slaves to our Great Song Dynasty!"

"Hey, no wonder that barbarian prince was crying and begging to marry the princess. He just wanted to prove his loyalty to our emperor and be a good dog!"

"From now on, when the Western Xia people see us, will they have to kneel down and call us 'Grandpa'? After all, we are the masters, and they are the subjects!"

"Haha, that's called 'recognizing one's ancestors and returning to one's roots'!"

Every word, every laugh, was like a resounding slap across Li Liangzuo's face. His pride, his self-esteem, and his ambition to humiliate the Song Dynasty were all crushed into the mud by this gleaming broken stone and the mocking laughter outside the window.

"This is outrageous! This is absolutely outrageous!!"

Li Liangzuo let out a beast-like growl and slammed his fist hard on the mahogany table. Blood immediately flowed down his knuckles, but he felt no pain whatsoever.

He is now faced with an unsolvable dead end.

Should he force himself to marry her? That would mean obeying the will of Heaven and "paying tribute and becoming a vassal." Li Liangzuo would then become the "puppet emperor" appointed by the Song Dynasty, and upon returning to his country, he would inevitably be deposed by his powerful mother, Empress Dowager Meicang, and might even die without a burial place.

Annulling the engagement? Although he preserved the dignity of the nation, he came with a great force, but in the end, he ran back in disgrace because he "didn't dare to be a grandson." He not only became a laughing stock, but also completely disgraced the Western Xia.

No matter which option you choose, you're going to lose!

Jiang Lin, who stood outside the chessboard, smiling as he walked step by step into the trap, had long since become Li Liangzuo's deepest nightmare.

A corner of the palace was shrouded in shadow.

The pro-peace faction, including Wu Chong and Cai Jing, were also busy. At this moment, Cai Jing's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

"Brilliant... truly brilliant." Cai Jing held the intelligence report in his hand, his knuckles white, his voice carrying a deep chill. "Without a single soldier, just a broken stone and a few rumors, you have driven Li Liangzuo to the edge of a cliff."

"The appearance of this stone is too coincidental!" Wu Chong paced anxiously around the room. "Lord Cai, this is clearly someone playing tricks! They're trying to use fate to sabotage our important plans! If the marriage alliance fails, Western Xia will surely be enraged, and then war will break out on the border..."

"What's the point of investigating now?" Cai Jing abruptly interrupted him, his eyes sinister. "Everyone in Bianjing saw that stone manifest itself! Do you dare tell the people it's fake? Do you dare tell the emperor that the 'Mandate of Heaven' is a lie? That's deceiving the emperor! That's treason!"

Cai Jing took a deep breath, feeling an unprecedented sense of powerlessness. The opponent's move was too brilliant, directly seizing the high ground of "divine will," leaving them, the pro-peace faction, speechless.

The aroma of tea wafts through the meditation room of Xiangguo Temple.

Compared to the raging waves outside, it was unusually quiet here. Jiang Lin had changed back into a loose and comfortable set of clothes and was leaning back lazily in his chair, toying with an exquisite teacup in his hand.

"Lord Ouyang, listen to what's going on outside." Jiang Lin's lips curled into a playful smile. "Li Liangzuo is probably in the post station right now, wanting to bang his head against the wall, but afraid of damaging the 'auspicious aura' on that wall."

Sitting opposite him, Ouyang Xiu looked at the headmaster of the academy, who was decades younger than him, and the expression in his eyes changed from initial admiration to a complex feeling of near awe.

They used chemical color-changing techniques to forge documents, exploited people's greed to set up a scheme, and then used rumors to force someone to resign.

This series of interconnected schemes not only involved scheming against people, but also against their hearts.

"The chief's schemes are beyond the comprehension of even the gods and ghosts." Ouyang Xiu put down his teacup, sighed deeply, and said with a touch of regret, "It's just a pity for Li Liangzuo. He probably can't figure out even if he racks his brains, why God seems to be targeting him."

"All's fair in war. To deal with wolves, you have to use the methods of a hunter." Jiang Lin put down his teacup, the languid look in his eyes vanishing instantly, replaced by a sharp, piercing glint. "The time is right. It's time to close the net."

"What should I do?" Ouyang Xiu leaned forward slightly.

Jiang Lin tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound: "Tomorrow at court, you don't need to mention the authenticity of the imperial seal, nor the advantages and disadvantages of the marriage alliance. You only need to do one thing—impeach the Ministry of Rites!"

"Impeach the Ministry of Rites?" Ouyang Xiu was taken aback.

"That's right." Jiang Lin sneered. "Then ask the Ministry of Rites: since Heaven has sent down auspicious omens, clearly indicating 'paying tribute and acknowledging submission,' why wasn't it stated in the marriage alliance agreement that the Western Xia ruler must 'relinquish his imperial title, perform the rites of a subject, and adopt the official calendar'?"

Ouyang Xiu's eyes suddenly lit up, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

That's a really vicious move!

This is using the fake stone as leverage to pass the buck to the imperial court and those who advocate peace.

Since it is the will of Heaven that we must submit, then if we do not make Western Xia submit, it would be a dereliction of duty by the Ministry of Rites and a violation of the will of Heaven by the imperial court!

Now, the peace faction only had two paths: either force Western Xia to submit, in which case the marriage would be called off; or admit that the will of Heaven was false, which would offend the people of the whole world and the emperor who believed in auspicious omens.

No matter which option is chosen, the peace faction is doomed.

"Master's strike was right to the heart of the matter!" Ouyang Xiu stood up, bowed deeply to Jiang Lin, his eyes filled with admiration. "Tomorrow at the morning court, I will be the final straw that broke the camel's back!"