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

As night deepened, the lights of Bianjing gradually faded, with only a few mansions of powerful figures still bustling with revelry, as if the thunder of the past few days had not shaken their foundations.

In a secluded corner of the Cai family villa, an inconspicuous little door quietly opens.

Two figures cloaked in black flashed out and hurriedly disappeared into a narrow dead-end alley.

These two people were the two witnesses who were released by Jiang Lin out of "great mercy"—the accountant and the switchboard officer of Daming Prefecture.

"Are you really going to let us go?"

The accountant wiped away a cold sweat, glanced back at the dimly lit street, and felt his heart pounding like a drum.

"That Jiang Lin is a cunning and treacherous man. Could he have poisoned us?"

The operator snorted coldly.

"Poisoned? I haven't uttered a sound in the last two days, the food and drink are perfectly clean."

"Hurry! Before the Imperial City Guards can react, get to 'that place' and take the silver notes to escape."

Unbeknownst to them, a layer of transparent, viscous liquid had somehow covered the corners of the walls and the cracks in the bluestone slabs they passed.

That was an accidental discovery by Shen Kuo when he was researching "glass glue" at Jingshi Academy.

It not only has extremely strong adhesion, but also contains a fluorescent powder that has never appeared in the Song Dynasty.

Ordinary lights cannot illuminate it, but under the specially made "purple glass lamp", it becomes a dazzling fluorescent path.

In an attic three streets away.

Shen Kuo held a strangely shaped lampstand in his hands, which he had modified from a reflector from a ship and a special grease he had extracted.

"Headmaster, the mark has been activated."

Shen Kuo's voice carried a hint of barely suppressed fervor.

"They paused for five breaths at the third corner of Suzaku Street, presumably to make a rendezvous."

Jiang Lin leaned back in his armchair, tossing a gleaming gold coin in his hand.

Those were "sample coins" that he casually took from the confiscated property of the Cai family.

"Don't rush, let them run."

"These frightened birds will definitely seek out what they consider the safest place: the cellar."

Niu Aihua was squatting on the windowsill, repeatedly stroking the blade of the horse-slaying sword in her hand, her eyes like those of a wolf hunting in the dark.

"Chief, shall we close the net now?"

"No."

Jiang Lin waved his hand.

"Taking them in will only cut off the Cai family's external support. What I'm looking for is the true source of the ore supply to Western Xia."

"The letter mentioned 'taking a 30% cut from the market,' but there's no one on the list who could actually do that."

Su Shi, who was listening nearby, was alarmed.

"You mean, Cai Jing and Wu Chong were actually just proxies in name only?"

Jiang Lin sneered.

"How could the 'three redundancies and two accumulations' of the Song Dynasty be resolved by a few ministers and prime ministers?"

"Without a few 'noble' heads backing him up, Cai Jing wouldn't dare to openly engage in this kind of treasonous business even if he had ten times the courage."

Just then, the lamp in Shen Kuo's hand suddenly flashed.

"They've moved! They've left the inner city and are heading west towards the slums!"

"West side?"

Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow.

That was the dirtiest and most chaotic place in Bianjing, a gathering place for all sorts of monsters and demons.

"interesting."

Jiang Lin stood up and casually draped a black cloak over his shoulders.

"Let's go and see what this 'second court' under Bianjing City is all about."

Half an hour later.

An abandoned brick factory in the western suburbs of Bianjing.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of burning; what should have been a desolate place was now heavily guarded.

Several burly men dressed in tattered short clothes, but with murderous eyes, were walking back and forth on the wall, holding powerful crossbows.

The accountant and the telephone operator scrambled into the depths of the brick kiln.

"It stopped there."

Shen Kuo lay prone behind a mound of earth not far away, adjusting the binoculars in his hand.

"Chief, the bottom of that brick kiln is hollow. The markers disappear below the horizon, more than ten feet deep."

Jiang Lin surveyed the terrain, his smile growing even colder.

"These brick kilns were probably used as cover to conceal the movement of gunpowder and weapons."

"Qian Duoduo, take some men and seal off all the water sources within a three-mile radius."

"Niu Aihua, take a team of guards and send smoke through the ventilation shaft."

"Su Zizhan, take a few men and guard the exit. Remember, even if a fly flies out, swat it to see if it's surnamed Cai."

After arranging everything, Jiang Lin walked alone towards the dilapidated cave dwelling that was emitting faint black smoke.

"Jiang Lin! You don't want to live anymore!"

Su Shi exclaimed in a low voice from behind.

Jiang Lin didn't turn around, he just waved his hand.

He was holding a round object in his hand—it was the deluxe version of the "tear gas stun grenade" developed by Shen Kuo.

As Jiang Lin stepped into the kiln, several cold arrows pierced the air and arrived.

Jiang Lin shifted to the side with an uncanny movement, dodging the sneak attack, and at the same time casually threw out the black ball.

"Since you enjoy crawling through mouse holes, then please experience what 'full sensory torture' truly means."

"boom--!"

A blinding white light burst forth in the narrow cave, followed by a suffocating mixture of chili powder and nitric acid smoke.

The screams pierced the ground and echoed across the wilderness.

Jiang Lin put on the specially made mask he had prepared in advance and strode into the thick smoke.

In the dusty underground space, he saw rows of brand-new Divine Arm Bows and piles of Song Dynasty Imperial Guard armor cast from pig iron.

And sitting in these supply centers was someone he never expected.

That was Chen Huai, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, who had been clamoring in the court a few days earlier to resign and retire.

It was also Chen Dong's father, who considered himself aloof and superior.

"Lord Chen, you've certainly chosen a pretty hardcore place to retire to."

Jiang Lin stepped over a thug who was rolling his eyes and walked up to Chen Huai, who was coughing and rolling on the ground.

"Tell me, if I were to press your son's head onto these divine crossbows, would he still believe that scholars should have integrity?"

Chen Huai raised his head in despair, his face covered in soot.

"How...how could you possibly have found this place...?"

"Because you old foxes always underestimate the power of investigating things."

Jiang Lin grabbed Chen Huai by the collar.

"Tell me, who stamped the official seal on your weapons?"

Chen Huai opened his mouth, about to speak, when a muffled horn sound suddenly came from outside the cave.

At this moment, a large number of soldiers dressed in imperial armor surrounded the exit.

But the person leading the group was neither Su Shi nor the emperor's personal guards.

Instead, it was Zhao Lingjun's uncle, Prince Zhao Xi of Jing.

"Jiangshanchang, it's better to leave such an important place to the royal family to handle themselves."

The King of Jing entered the cave with his personal guards, his eyes cold and sinister.

"This Chen Huai is colluding with the Western Xia. I am here on imperial orders to ambush him. Thank you, Jiang Shanchang, for leading the way."

Jiang Lin looked at this prince who had always kept a low profile, a knowing smile flashing in his eyes.

So, the real oriole was here.

"Since Your Highness wishes to make a name for yourself, then please do so."

Jiang Lin naturally released Chen Huai and turned to walk out.

In the instant they brushed past each other, Jiang Lin whispered a sentence in the ear of the King of Jing:

"Your Highness, the powder wasn't just on Chen Huai; I also smeared some on that list earlier."

The King of Jing suddenly froze in his tracks.

He subconsciously looked at his right hand.

In the dim candlelight, an eerie purple light flickered between his fingers.

That was evidence that he had secretly touched the list in court just now.