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

Chen Dong's face turned pale instantly. How could he know these specific numbers? They weren't mentioned in the books he'd read!

"Where...where did you get these numbers? Stop spouting nonsense!" Chen Dong shouted, his voice stern but his tone weak.

"Nonsense?" Su Shi laughed. "These figures are recorded in the account books of Wu Chong and Cai Jing. They are not only corrupt, but they also help those imperial merchants evade taxes. I have here a record of their transactions with sixteen major merchants in Bianjing, which clearly shows how they used their power to reduce or exempt these merchants' commercial taxes by at least three million strings of cash each year."

Su Shi slowly took out a thin booklet from his bosom.

"If this three million strings of cash were deposited into the national treasury, it could support an additional 100,000 imperial guards! It could comfortably feed the disaster victims outside Bianjing for a year! But now, it has ended up in private pockets. Brother Chen, is this what you mean by 'wealth being stored among the people'?"

"I..." Chen Dong was sweating profusely and couldn't utter a single word.

Su Shi gave him no chance to catch his breath and continued to work on the abacus.

"Brother Chen also said that we should 'give the people a rest.' Well said! Let's do some more calculations then."

"Two years ago, the Emperor wanted to repair the Mingtang Hall, with a budget of 500,000 strings of cash. Many court officials submitted memorials arguing that this would be a waste of resources and manpower, competing with the people for profit. The Emperor readily accepted their advice and cancelled the project. This event became a celebrated story among scholars throughout the land, isn't that right?"

"That's right!" Wang Fu immediately stepped forward and said, "This is the virtuous rule of a wise ruler!"

"What a sage ruler's benevolent rule!" Su Shi sneered. "Then let me tell you. Last year, Wu Chong received over two hundred thousand taels of silver in birthday gifts! Cai Jing built a villa by West Lake, costing three hundred thousand strings of cash! Where did all this money come from?"

"While they advised the officials to be frugal and allow the people to rest, they themselves indulged in extravagance and squandered money like water! The wealth they extracted from the people far exceeded what the officials spent on building a grand hall!"

"Gentlemen, whose logic is this? Is it the logic of Confucius or the logic of Mencius?"

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

Su Shi slammed the abacus in his hand heavily onto the table.

He surveyed the dumbfounded scholars in the hall, his voice booming like a great bell, resounding throughout the entire Biyong Hall.

"The classics teach us benevolence and righteousness, they teach us morality, but they don't teach us how much a pound of rice costs, how much a soldier's pay is, or how much the people's wealth a corrupt official can embezzle!"

"We've been engaging in empty talk that has harmed the nation for a hundred years! We've talked about empty treasuries, corrupt border defenses, and people resorting to cannibalism!"

"Today, Jing Shi Academy wants to tell the whole world! Governing a country is not about talking, nor is it about relying on the classics; it's about this!"

He pointed to the small abacus.

"It's all about calculation! We need to meticulously calculate the origins and destination of every single penny, leaving no room for corrupt officials to hide, and ensuring that every penny in the national treasury truly benefits the people!"

"This is what it truly means to govern the world and benefit the people!"

After Su Shi finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

After a long while, Ouyang Xiu, who was on the judging panel, slowly stood up and led the applause.

The applause started sparsely and gradually grew to resound throughout the hall. The applause in the Biyong Hall lasted for a long time.

The way those scholars who came to watch the spectacle looked at Su Shi had completely changed.

What began as disdain and skepticism turned into shock, admiration, and even fanaticism.

What Su Shi is saying today is a "principle" they have never heard of before.

This principle, though lacking in literary flair and classical allusions, and even bordering on crude, is like an incredibly sharp knife that pierces through the ornate and hypocritical veneer surrounding the "great way of governing the country," revealing the most real and cruel core beneath—numbers and interests.

Chen Dong, Wang Fu, and the others slumped in their seats, their faces ashen.

They lost.

They suffered a crushing defeat and were powerless to fight back.

Su Shi didn't play by their rules at all. Their well-prepared eruditions of classics and historical texts were like a powerful punch landing on cotton—completely ineffective. A few figures and account books casually tossed out by Su Shi easily shattered all their arguments.

Sima Guang looked very grim on the judging panel.

He had to admit that Su Shi had won. And won fair and square, undeniably. But deep down, he felt extremely uncomfortable.

Su Shi's remarks, while certainly thought-provoking, also completely negated the "Dao" (the Way) that these traditional scholar-officials had always upheld. In his view, if governing a country is only about calculation and profit, how is it different from that of a street vendor? If scholars all become accountants, where is their "integrity"? Where is their "virtue"?

This was a "heresy" that he could not accept.

Ouyang Xiu, on the other hand, was filled with relief and excitement.

Looking at the disciple who was speaking eloquently and full of vigor in the hall, he seemed to see the hope for the future of the Song Dynasty.

Jiang Lin... what kind of person is this Jiang Lin? He can not only see through the crux of the political situation at a glance, but also teach a student like Su Shi, who can subvert the thinking of an era.

He looked at the empty seat behind Su Shi, his heart filled with awe.

Although Jiang Linren was not present today, he won everything.

Through his disciples and his ideas, he taught the entire scholar-official class of the Song Dynasty an unforgettable lesson.

The outcome of the debate was already a foregone conclusion.

The Imperial Academy Chancellor, looking embarrassed, announced the victory of Jingshi Academy and then hurriedly left. He knew that from this day forward, the prestige of the Imperial Academy would plummet, while Jingshi Academy would rise to prominence.

The news spread throughout Bianjing City at top speed.

"Have you heard? At the Imperial Academy, Scholar Su, with just an abacus, left all the Confucian scholars speechless!"

"That's not all! I heard he read out Wu Chong and Cai Jing's corrupt and filthy accounts on the spot, scaring those imperial students so much they wet themselves!"

"So governing a country isn't about studying books, it's about accounting! This Jing Shi Academy teaches such practical things!"

"If my son had the chance to go in and learn how to do accounting, he'd definitely become a high-ranking official someday!"

In an instant, public opinion throughout Bianjing City completely sided with Jiang Lin and his Jingshi Academy.

Those who had previously criticized Jiang Lin for being uncivilized and behaving eccentrically all shut their mouths.

Those who were already curious and expectant about Jiang Lin became even more enthusiastic.

That afternoon, the entrance to Jiang Lin's courtyard was once again packed with people.

This time, it wasn't just the powerful and wealthy who wanted a "get-out-of-jail-free card" who came, but also a large number of ordinary merchants who came after hearing the news, and even some poor but quick-witted scholars.

They all shared a common goal—to send their children to the Jingshi Academy to learn "mathematics," to acquire the true skill of "governing the world and benefiting the people"!

Qian Duoduo stood at the door, looking at the dark mass of people in front of her, her hands trembling as she held the abacus.

"I've struck it rich... I've struck it rich... This time I'm really going to strike it rich!" He was so excited that his face turned red.

He roughly estimated that the "admission intention fees" he received today alone had exceeded 50,000 guan! This was more than he had earned in a year by selling "top scholar paper" and "heavenly crafted glass"!

All of this was simply because of a debate planned by Jiang Lin.

Is this what "paid knowledge" is all about? The headmaster is so insightful!

yard.

Jiang Lin remained lying on the rattan chair, listening to the bustling noise outside, his face expressionless.

Zhao Lingjun excitedly ran up to him, holding the newly completed plan of the disaster relief camp.

"Headmaster, look! This was finished by Han Zhen and his team in two days and two nights!"