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

Three days later, a spectacular sight, rarely seen in a century, unfolded at the east gate of Bianjing (Kaifeng).

A large, imposing procession, stretching for miles, was preparing to leave the city and head south.

While it may be called a caravan, it actually contains many young scholars who are clearly intellectuals, with the newly appointed top scholar, Su Shi, at the head.

While it was described as an official ceremonial procession, the group also included various oddly shaped carts covered with thick tarpaulins, their contents unknown. A group of fierce-looking guards stood alongside, led by a young woman carrying a horse-slaying saber.

The most eye-catching thing was the luxurious four-wheeled carriage in the middle of the procession.

This carriage was twice the size of an ordinary carriage, and the carriage was made of the finest nanmu wood, with crystal-clear glass inlaid in the windows. Even more extravagantly, the interior of the carriage had been transformed into a small living room, complete with a soft couch, a low table, and even a small ice chest containing chilled plum juice.

At this moment, Jiang Lin was lying sprawled on the soft couch, holding a book in his hand, reading with great interest.

Zhao Lingjun sat to the side, sipping his plum juice while angrily flipping through the account books.

"Jiang Lin! How dare you read such trivial books here?" Zhao Lingjun slammed the account book on the low table. "Do you know how much money this trip south cost just for this beat-up carriage of yours? The custom-made carriage cost 300 strings of cash! The four Akhal-Teke horses we bought from the Western Regions cost 1,200 strings! And all this miscellaneous stuff in your carriage cost another 200 strings! We're going to Hangzhou to take up our new post, not to go sightseeing!"

Jiang Lin didn't even lift his eyelids, turned a page of his book, and said lazily, "Your Highness, mind your place. You're an investor, not a housekeeper. Besides, I've made so much money for the academy, what's wrong with enjoying myself a little? This is called improving employee benefits, understand?"

"You!" Zhao Lingjun was so angry that his teeth itched.

Since the fall of the Prince of Jing, Jiang Lin requested permission to go south. She used the pretext of "supervising the academy's finances" to persuade the emperor to allow her to go with him.

She had hoped to embark on a romantic trip to Jiangnan with Jiang Lin. Who knew that this guy would spend the entire time in his precious carriage, either reading or sleeping, leaving her, a major shareholder and a stunning beauty, completely unused – what a waste!

"Headmaster, Your Highness, Chenqiao Post Station is just ahead. We'll rest here tonight," Qian Duoduo's voice came from outside the carriage.

"Okay," Jiang Lin replied, putting down his book and stretching.

The convoy slowly came to a stop, and everyone began to set up camp.

Su Shi got off his carriage, still holding a scroll in his hand, and walked straight to Jiang Lin's carriage.

"Teacher, I just came across a couplet on the road and would like to ask you to correct it," Su Shi said with great interest.

Jiang Lin yawned: "Tell me about it."

"The floating clouds stretch endlessly, rising and falling." Su Shi recited.

This is a couplet with repeated characters, which seems simple but is actually extremely difficult to match.

Jiang Lin glanced at him and casually said, "Flying snowflakes, flakes, flakes, flakes, flakes flying."

Su Shi was stunned.

His first line of the couplet was inspired by the imagery of an ancient poet, something he had come up with after much thought. Unexpectedly, the teacher responded with such a perfect match, surpassing it in both style and meaning.

"Teacher, you are truly talented!" Su Shi exclaimed in admiration.

Jiang Lin waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, alright, stop showing off your knowledge. Instead of wasting your time, go check out that bridge over there."

"A bridge?" Su Shi followed Jiang Lin's gaze and saw a stone bridge not far away. Half of the bridge was broken, and many people and merchants who wanted to cross the river were stuck on the riverbank, complaining bitterly.

"It's just a broken bridge; we can just take a detour," Soga no Shi said dismissively.

"You are now the Vice Prefect of Hangzhou, an official of the Song Dynasty," Jiang Lin's voice suddenly turned serious. "In your eyes, this is just a broken bridge. But in the eyes of those common people, it's a huge problem. Taking a detour means walking dozens of miles more through the mountains, wasting so much time. And how much money will those merchants transporting goods lose?"

Su Shi blushed slightly and bowed, saying, "This student has learned a great deal."

"What's the use of just being taught? Go do it!" Jiang Lin pointed to another large cart not far away. "Go and call Shen Kuo over. Let him see if this bridge can still be saved."

Soon, Shen Kuo, carrying a large toolbox, was summoned.

He ran to the broken bridge, took out all sorts of strange tools, and started measuring and calculating, muttering words that no one could understand.

"A 3-4-5 Pythagorean theorem... there's a problem with the load-bearing structure of this bridge pier... we can use the lever principle..."

Half an hour later, Shen Kuo ran back to Jiang Lin with a draft full of drawings.

"Master! I have a solution!" Shen Kuo said excitedly. "I've calculated it. The main structure of the bridge piers is still intact; only the connection point of the bridge deck is broken."

"All we need to do is rebuild a few temporary support points in the riverbed using levers and pulleys, then lift the broken bridge deck, and reinforce it with my newly mixed 'cement.' It will be open to traffic in a maximum of two hours!"

"Cement?" Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow.

"Yes!" Shen Kuo pulled a small cloth bag from his pocket, inside which was a gray powder. "This is what I made by calcining limestone and clay at high temperatures, according to the formula you mentioned before. After adding water, it solidifies and becomes harder than stone!"

Jiang Lin nodded in satisfaction.

As expected of Shen Kuo, he was truly a genius who grasped things instantly. I had only casually mentioned the principle of cement, and he had actually figured it out.

"Then let's get to work." Jiang Lin waved his hand. "Qian Duoduo, go tell those merchants who are stuck and want to cross the bridge that they should come and help. Those with strength should contribute their strength, and those with vehicles should contribute their vehicles. We'll repair the bridge for free; consider it as building up some good karma for Lord Su's new appointment."

At a single command, the entire camp sprang into action.

The students from the academy were in charge of organizing the people, while Niu Aihua led the guards to maintain order. The people and merchants who were blocked off, upon hearing that someone was repairing the bridge for free, and that it was led by the newly appointed top scholar, Lord Su, were all very enthusiastic and rushed forward to help.

For a time, the riverbank was bustling with activity and people were working hard.

Shen Kuo acted like a chief engineer, loudly directing operations on site.

"Hey you over there, tighten the rope a bit more!"

"The pulley system is at the wrong angle. Move it three inches to the left!"

"The ratio of cement to sand is three to one, and water should be added slowly!"

Su Shi also took off his clean Confucian robe, rolled up his sleeves, and personally went down to move the stones.

Looking at the bustling scene before him, Zhao Lingjun leaned against the car window, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

She looked at Su Shi, the top scholar who had rolled up his sleeves and was sweating profusely alongside ordinary laborers.

Looking at Shen Kuo, the mad scientist who held all sorts of strange tools and commanded with composure.

Finally, her gaze fell on the luxurious carriage.

The man in the car didn't do anything; he just moved his lips.

Yet everyone and everything revolves around his will.

He was like an invisible chess player, turning everyone into pieces on his chessboard.

"What kind of person is this guy...?" Zhao Lingjun muttered to himself.

Two hours later, amidst cheers, the broken bridge was reconnected. Shen Kuo's cement firmly solidified the fracture, and several carriages tentatively crossed it, the stone bridge remaining as stable as Mount Tai.

"Lord Su is truly a living bodhisattva!"

"Yes, yes, it's truly a blessing for us people of Jiangnan that the imperial court has sent such a good official as Lord Su!"

The people's praises were endless, but Su Shi's face was burning. He knew that all the credit should go to his teacher, who was pretending to be asleep in the carriage.

As the convoy resumed its journey and slowly crossed the newly repaired stone bridge, Jiang Lin lifted the carriage curtain, glanced at the cheering crowd outside, and a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips.

This is exactly the effect he wanted.

Before he even arrived in Hangzhou, Su Shi's reputation for "loving the people like his own children and being good at practical work" would already be spread there.

This is the war of public opinion.

And that's what he's best at.