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

The literary contest at the poetry gathering ended with an overwhelming victory for Su Shi.

The atmosphere inside Wanghu Tower changed dramatically in the short time it takes to burn an incense stick. It went from tense and confrontational at the beginning to fanatical worship in the middle, and now to eerie silence.

The stage that the Lin family head and Lord Wang had meticulously arranged ended up with Su Shi performing a solo act, which was met with thunderous applause. How could the two heads of the family bear this?

The Lin family head's face was ashen, as if his father had died. He glared fiercely at the two useless "talented men" he had paid to hire, wishing he could throw them into West Lake to feed the fish right now.

Lord Wang remained silent, his face ashen, his fingers tapping the table repeatedly; no one knew what he was thinking.

Jiang Lin stood behind Su Shi, already planning what to have for supper later.

"Now it's finally quiet. Can we eat now?" he whispered to Zhao Lingjun.

Zhao Lingjun rolled his eyes at him, covered his mouth with his fan, and said softly, "Sir, don't be anxious. I think that Lord Wang seems to have another trick up his sleeve."

Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow. Oh? There's still a show to watch? That's not bad.

Sure enough, just when everyone thought the farce was about to end, Lord Wang, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.

He slammed his hand on the table with a loud "bang," startling everyone.

"Judge Su's writing is excellent! Truly excellent!"

Lord Wang stood up, his voice booming, yet filled with barely suppressed anger.

"Today, I have truly witnessed the brilliance of the top scholar. I am filled with admiration!"

He said he admired her, but the expression on his face was frighteningly grotesque.

Su Shi frowned slightly, watching him quietly, wanting to know what he was up to.

Lord Wang abruptly changed the subject, his voice suddenly becoming stern: "However! Magistrate Su, composing poems and essays is merely a scholar's refined hobby; governing a region relies not on flowery words or eloquent writings!"

coming!

Jiang Lin felt certain that the old man was finally about to reveal his true intentions.

"You keep saying that governing West Lake is for the sake of the people of Hangzhou, for the sake of elegance and refinement. But do you know that your actions have already incurred the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people!" Lord Wang shouted sternly.

"Oh?" Su Shi asked calmly, "Please enlighten me, Lord Wang, how have I incurred the wrath of Heaven and the resentment of the people?"

"Explicitly?" Lord Wang sneered. "Fine, then I'll let you die knowing why!"

He whirled around and shouted towards the hall entrance, "Bring him up!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two burly men in short jackets with fleshy faces escorted a thin, middle-aged man in a silk shirt with shifty eyes as he walked in.

As soon as these people entered, the expressions of many merchants in the hall changed slightly, clearly indicating that they recognized them.

Jiang Lin narrowed his eyes as well, sensing a wild and untamed aura emanating from these people.

"This is Master Qian of the Hangzhou Canal Gang. This is Chief Li of the Salt Gang," Lord Wang introduced, pointing to the two burly men with a hint of pride in his voice.

The Grand Canal Gang! The Salt Gang!

In Hangzhou, besides the government, these two gangs were the most powerful. One controlled the waterway transportation on the Grand Canal, and the other controlled the smuggled salt trade. They had hundreds or even thousands of men under their command and were true local tyrants.

Su Shi felt a chill run down his spine. He knew that this was the real killing move of the Lin family and Lord Wang.

Jiang Lin had warned him before that the Lin family would tamper with manpower, materials, and security. It seems that this is their prepared "security" measures.

"Prefect Su," Lord Wang looked down at Su Shi, "the brothers from the grain transport gang and the salt gang have asked me to pass on a message today. They have a few things they would like to ask you."

The thin, shifty-eyed middle-aged man stepped forward, gave Lord Wang and the Lin family head a fawning smile, then turned to Su Shi and said with a forced smile, "Lord Su, I've long admired your name. I'm the steward of the Lin household and also a member of the White Paper Fan gang. Today, we've come to submit our petition!"

As he spoke, he pulled a petition from his pocket and held it high.

"We are suing Judge Su for disregarding the law and law, and for condoning his subordinates' acts of violence and disturbance!"

"We are suing Judge Su for forcibly conscripting laborers, inflating wages, and disrupting the labor market in Hangzhou!"

"We sue Judge Su for his reckless actions, filling in the lake and building dikes, blocking our waterway and cutting off the lifeline of thousands of my brothers!"

With each point he made, his voice grew louder, until finally it was stern and stern.

These three charges are all more serious than the last.

Especially the last one, blocking the canal and cutting off people's livelihood, is a deadly feud that will never be resolved anywhere.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly plummeted to freezing point.

If the previous debate over poetry was merely a clash of personal feelings among intellectuals, then what we are seeing now is blatant political and economic suppression.

The combined influence of the grain transport gangs and the salt gangs formed a formidable force in Hangzhou that no one could ignore. If they were determined to cause trouble, not only would Su Shi, a mere prefect, be in trouble, but even the governor Liu Wenhai would have a headache.

All eyes were on Su Shi, eager to see how he would handle this deadly situation.

Su Shi's expression also turned serious. He hadn't expected the other party's methods to be so direct and ruthless.

He subconsciously looked at Jiang Lin behind him.

The lazy, spectator-like expression on Jiang Lin's face finally disappeared. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

Instead of being nervous, a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

"You've finally arrived. I thought you guys only knew how to play petty, low-class tricks."

Jiang Lin gently patted Su Shi on the back, gave him a reassuring look, and then slowly stepped forward.

The focus of the entire hall instantly shifted from Su Shi to the seemingly inconspicuous pageboy who had been standing at the back.

Lord Wang glared at Jiang Lin and roared, "You're just a servant! What right do you have to speak here? Get out!"

Jiang Lin ignored him completely, walked straight to the white paper fan of the canal gang, picked up the petition in his hand, and slowly read it through.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, he chuckled and flicked his wrist slightly.

The indictment, filled with accusations, instantly turned into a pile of flying fragments in his hand.

"A legal complaint? You think you're qualified to write one?"

Jiang Lin raised his head, his gaze sharp as a knife, sweeping over the members of the canal gang and the salt gang, and said, word by word:

"Want to play? Okay, I'll play with you."