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

South Gate of Bianjing.

Ten large carts covered with black tarpaulins rolled over the official road, their wheels sinking into the muddy ruts. With every inch they moved, the wood groaned under the weight.

Hundreds of well-armored soldiers escorted the procession, their swords drawn. The menacing atmosphere caused the merchants on the roadside to instinctively hold their breath, and even their hawking cries were instantly silenced.

Riding at the very front on a jet-black horse, Su Shi's once-bright blue robe had long since faded from wear.

His chin was covered with bluish stubble, and his eyes, which were once full of poetic charm, now looked as if they had been soaked in frost in the black mines of Daming Prefecture, exuding an uncontrollable ferocity.

The top scholar of the second year of the Jiayou era of the Song Dynasty now looks more like a swordsman who crawled out of a pile of corpses.

"Zizhan, you're back."

At the city gate, Ouyang Xiu looked at the long line of heavily laden carriages, his brows furrowing deeply.

"These past two days, the Emperor has only been drinking plain porridge, and those old fellows in the capital don't even dare to close their eyes."

Su Shi dismounted, splashing mud and water onto the official road beneath his feet, and gave Ouyang Xiu a very proper disciple's salute.

"Lord Ouyang, I'm sorry to have caused you so much worry."

Su Shi's voice lacked its former liveliness.

"This three-thousand-pound object is not only evidence of Zhao Liben's crimes, but also the crushed bones of thirty thousand refugees from Daming Prefecture."

"If Su can't bring back the truth, then he has no right to wear his head around his neck anymore."

When these things were mentioned, Su Shi glanced upwards out of the corner of his eye, and his expression showed a newfound reverence that he had never shown to outsiders.

A helpless smile appeared on Ouyang Xiu's lips.

"Your headmaster hasn't been idle either."

Right now, he's out playing in the mud with that bunch of rich and powerful spendthrift sons.

"I heard that they also captured a whole bunch of Cai family assassins and sent them all to my residence like crabs."

Upon hearing this, Su Shi was first taken aback, then burst into laughter that reverberated violently in his chest.

"As expected, he still has the headmaster's temper."

"Let's go, teacher. The officials are waiting, and those corrupt officials... they're probably going crazy with anticipation."

The Imperial Palace, the Chuigong Hall, and the drill ground.

Ten large carts, like black behemoths, were firmly nailed to the blue brick ground.

Zhao Zhen was not wearing a dragon robe, but only a casual dress. Supported by Eunuch Chen, he walked hurriedly, his eyes seeming to burn through the seals.

Without uttering a single word, Su Shi stepped forward, his sword drawn from its sheath.

"Snap!"

The long sword shattered the iron lock on the box.

As the wooden lid was lifted, the mountain of account books, secret correspondence, and large chunks of slag stained with dark red blood stood out starkly in the sunlight.

Su Shi bent down and pulled out a stack of letters from the brown paper package.

"Your Majesty, these are the original letters exchanged between Western Xia and the 'peace faction' in the court."

"The handwriting, official seal, and wax seal were all compared one by one by Zhang Ximeng, the prefectural magistrate of Daming Prefecture, and the evidence was irrefutable."

Zhao Zhen's hand trembled slightly as he casually pulled out one of the cards.

The moment he saw the contents, his originally pale face instantly turned a deep purplish-red.

"If the marriage alliance is successful, 30% of the tax revenue from the Western Xia border markets can be deposited in a private bank in Bianjing."

That was the national treasury of the Song Dynasty, the money that saved the soldiers' lives, but now it has become a source of personal enrichment for these powerful and wealthy people.

"My court is actually supporting a bunch of beasts like this!"

Zhao Zhen suddenly crumpled the letter into a ball and slammed it to the ground, his chest heaving violently.

"Su Shi, where are the 'living people' you brought back?"

Su Shi turned to the side and waved his hand, and two middle-aged men with hunched backs and heavy iron chains around their ankles were dragged onto the training ground.

"The chief accountant of the black mine in Daming Prefecture, and... the contact officer that Cai Jing planted on the border of Western Xia."

"These two individuals hold the lifeline of all the interests of the Cai and Wu families over the past ten years in their hands."

With each word Su Shi wrote, Zhao Zhen's heart grew colder.

The foundation of the Song Dynasty has rotted to this extent.

"go."

Zhao Zhen closed his eyes, the sound escaping from his throat carrying a chilling murderous intent.

"Bring the witness to Fanlou."

"I want Jiang Lin to personally tear off this hypocritical mask in front of those self-proclaimed upright students of the Imperial Academy."

Fanlou, the number one tavern in the Song Dynasty.

Today, Fanlou was eerily quiet. The area within a hundred paces was completely surrounded by the Imperial Guards, so much so that not even a sparrow could fly in.

In a private room on the third floor, Jiang Lin leaned against the window, toying with a cup of slightly cool tea.

The students sitting opposite him had veins bulging on their foreheads from anger.

Chen Dong, who was in charge, was the most notorious troublemaker among this generation of students at the Imperial Academy.

"Even if you enjoy the emperor's favor, we Confucian scholars will never accept this twisted logic of 'sorcery to save the world'!"

Chen Dong slammed his hand on the table, making the teacups clang loudly.

"Su Zizhan was the top scholar in the imperial examination of the second year of the Jiayou era of our Great Song Dynasty, yet he associates with you in those filthy places; it is a disgrace to scholarship!"

Jiang Lin didn't even look up; he simply tapped the windowsill with his fingertips.

"Master Chen, the man you speak of, the refined gentleman, is now arriving in his carriage."

At the end of the street, the heavy sound of wheels drowned out all the shouts.

Su Shi reined in his horse with one hand, the sound of his boots hitting the blue bricks crisp and heavy.

He looked up at the third floor and met Jiang Lin's amused gaze.

"Headmaster, I have not failed in my mission."

Su Shi's voice, imbued with strength, echoed throughout most of the street.

"Now that we have the evidence, those so-called 'refined' people can come up on stage."

Several guards roughly dragged the chained witness into Fanlou, followed by a box of account books that smelled musty and rusty.

Jiang Lin stood up and gave Chen Dong and the others, whose faces were stiff, a forced smile.

"Since you think I'm spreading heresy, then today I'll show you just how 'refined' your proud Song Dynasty really is."

He grabbed a ledger still stained with dried blood and slammed it down in front of Chen Dong.

"Turn to the third page."

"Look closely and see how your most revered literary master, Lord Wu, used the lives of ten thousand refugees to buy back his magnificent villa by West Lake."

Chen Dong's fingertips trembled violently. When he turned to that page and saw the vermilion annotations, the color drained from his face instantly.

"This... is absolutely impossible..."

"Nothing is impossible."

Jiang Lin slowly walked up behind him, his tone as cold as ice.

"The academy doesn't teach these things because I think they're too dirty."

"But if you future pillars of the nation can't even look this filth in the eye, then we might as well hand over the Song Dynasty to the Western Xia as soon as possible."

Su Shi pushed open the door and entered, covered in dust that hadn't been washed off, yet his aura was a hundred times stronger than that of the imperial students.

He gave Chen Dong a cold glare.

"Did you hear that?"

"Don't look for the Song Dynasty in piles of books. The real world is in the mud and in the blood debts."

Jiang Lin turned to look at Su Shi.

"Where's the wine?"

"The top-grade pear blossom white tea has already been produced downstairs."

Su Shi also laughed, a unrestrained and wild laugh.

"Then let's go, and offer a sacrifice to the souls of those who died unjustly."

"And while we're at it, let's drag those old bastards who haven't been caught yet out of the light of day, one by one."

Just as the two were about to go downstairs, the air outside Fanlou was suddenly torn apart by a sharp whistling sound.

A long arrow with jet-black feathers pierced the windowpane of the private room with pinpoint accuracy. The tremor of the arrow's fletching startled Chen Dong so much that he fell to the ground with a thud.

A piece of silk soaked in blood was tied to the arrow shaft.

Only four words were written on it:

"I have the imperial seal in hand."

Jiang Lin stared at those four words, a cold glint in his eyes.

Li Liangzuo.

This little prince of Western Xia actually dared to play with fire in this city.