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

The morning court session of the Great Song Dynasty hadn't been this quiet in a long time.

In the past, those civil officials would quote classics and would tear the roof off the Chuigong Hall over a budget of a few taels of silver, wishing they could break every single copper coin in half.

But today, these people are like gourds with their mouths sawed off, their heads tucked into the collars of their official robes, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Those few vacant, prestigious positions—originally belonging to the powerful Wu Chong and Cai Jing—now made the remaining civil and military officials stare at them, feeling a chill run down their spines, cold sweat trickling down the backs of their official robes.

Zhao Zhen sat on the dragon throne, the list Jiang Lin had brought back spread out before him. He turned the pages extremely slowly, the rustling sound of each page like a slap in the face to someone.

"Are they all mute?" Zhao Zhen finally closed the list, a barely suppressed gloom in his eyes. His gaze swept over everyone like a blade. "Weren't you usually quite talkative? Ouyang Xiu, tell me, this case has far-reaching implications. How are we going to wrap this up?"

Ouyang Xiu took a deep breath, stepped forward, and tried to keep his tone calm: "Your Majesty, Jiang Lin, the headmaster of Jingshi Academy, once said that if a tree's roots are rotten, simply cutting off the branches will only treat the symptoms. It needs the soil loosened and some fresh fertilizer applied."

Zhao Zhen's eye twitched: "These words... are they really his exact words?"

"Uh... Jiang Lin's original words were, 'Just shovel up the rotten stuff, burn it to ashes and use it as fertilizer, so it won't take up space and attract flies.'"

A series of soft, rapid breaths filled the hall.

Only Jiang Lin in the entire capital dared to say such a thing, and only Ouyang Xiu dared to spread it.

"Summon Jiang Lin to the palace."

Zhao Zhen sighed. He now understood that proper officials were useless at dealing with such messy accounts; only that unconventional and eccentric person could cut through the Gordian knot.

A moment later, Jiang Lin swayed and staggered into the hall.

This time, he didn't even bother to make a show of it, and only stuffed the last handful of melon seed shells into his sleeve at the entrance of the main hall.

"Jiang Lin, do you know your crime?" Zhao Zhen asked sternly, as if it were a routine matter.

"Which incident are you referring to, Your Majesty?" Jiang Lin brushed the dust off his sleeves and asked casually, "Is it kicking over the murder pit of the Western Xia prince, or retrieving this 'Portraits of Officials' for you?"

"Cough!" The eyes of the eunuch Chen standing next to him almost popped out.

"Alright, stop with that scoundrel tone."

Zhao Zhen waved his hand to dismiss those around him, even the imperial guards retreated to within ten paces of the main hall entrance. This was to discuss a private matter.

"Just tell me straight, how much do you want for your 'Bianjing branch'?"

Jiang Lin chuckled and held up two fingers, waving them in front of Zhao Zhen.

"Two hundred thousand strings of cash?" Zhao Zhen asked tentatively, his tone tinged with pain, but still within his psychological tolerance.

Jiang Lin shook his head, his smile, which seemed to say "kill not only the man, but also the man's spirit," growing even stronger.

"Your Majesty, two hundred thousand strings of cash? Are you looking down on me, Jiang Lin, or on the substantial wealth Cai Jing has accumulated over the years?"

"What I want is 20% of all the excess assets of the Cai and Wu families after the confiscation of their property."

Zhao Zhen was so angry he laughed. He leaned forward from his dragon throne: "Twenty percent? Do you know how much stock that old fox Cai Jing has? Three hundred thousand taels of silver, gold ingots by the chest, not even counting his fertile fields and antiques! That's at least five or six hundred thousand strings of cash. What are you going to do with that? Plan a rebellion?"

Jiang Lin's smile vanished, his gaze suddenly turning serious: "Shipbuilding."

"Establish the Great Song Maritime Research Institute."

"Give resettlement allowances to those students who dare to risk their lives at the border."

With each word Jiang Lin uttered, his voice grew deeper: "Your Majesty, your national treasury is leaking like a sieve. If this money goes into the Ministry of Revenue, it will be skimmed off layer by layer, and you'll be lucky to have a bowl of porridge left."

"But once I enter the Jingshi Academy, I will transform this filthy money into the strongest armor of the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Zhen fell silent, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table beneath his dragon robe. He knew Jiang Lin wasn't lying; the Song Dynasty's excessive spending and corruption had long since eroded the facade of its golden age.

"Twenty percent is too much; I need to keep it to cover the military expenses in the Northwest. Fifteen percent is my bottom line," Zhao Zhen bargained.

"make a deal."

Jiang Lin agreed faster than lightning. Clearly, this price was enough for him to make the most of the science of physics in Bianjing.

"But I have one condition."

"explain."

"That overflowing 20%... no, 15% is 20,000 mu of fertile land, right outside Bianjing. I want to build the first experimental farm of the Song Dynasty there."

Jiang Lin pointed out the window, as if he could already see the thousands of acres of high-quality seeds ripening: "I want to double the grain production of the Song Dynasty. Your soldiers will not only have swords in their hands, but also meat in their bellies."

Zhao Zhen shook his head helplessly: "With your personality, you really won't suffer even the slightest loss."

"Alright, get out of here. But there's one condition: if Lingjun makes even the slightest mistake, I will tear down your academy."

Jiang Lin shrugged: "She's the head accountant of the academy now, protecting the boss, that comes at a different price."

Stepping out of the main hall, the sunlight was so bright it made you squint.

Su Shi, who had been waiting for a long time, rushed forward with a look of utter panic: "Headmaster! How did it go? Did the Emperor kill or torture... no, did he pay the ransom?"

Jiang Lin patted his shoulder, smiling broadly: "Not only will you get money, but you'll also get land. Zizhan, go tell Qian Duoduo to lower the hiring standards again—bring in anyone with a skill."

"We must stir up this stagnant water in Bianjing and turn it into a raging torrent."

Su Shi excitedly clenched his fist and was about to run away, but Jiang Lin pulled him back.

"Oh, and those key witnesses, release them."

"Release them?" Su Shi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Headmaster, that was the Achilles' heel of the Cai family's remnants!"

"How can you catch big fish without casting a net?"

Jiang Lin gazed at the distant, layered mountains of red walls and green tiles, his eyes growing deep and unfathomable. "Cai Jing has fallen. Those foxes still watching from the shore are just waiting for a chance to catch their breath. I want them to think this case is closed, to think the storm has passed."

"Shen Kuo's 'marking powder' hasn't been used up yet. Only by getting them moving can we follow the clues and find their hidden treasure trove deep in the mountains."

"What about Shen Kuo? Where is he?" Su Shi asked blankly.

"Him?" Jiang Lin's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "He's busy processing the top-grade glass-type jadeite that was confiscated from my '15%' into lenses for astronomical telescopes."

Corrupt, dirty money forges the light of civilization.

Jiang Lin felt this deal was incredibly profitable.