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

Three days later, at the Hangzhou Prefectural Government Office.

Su Shi, dressed in a brand-new bright red official robe, sat upright in the main hall. The gavel slammed down, and the yamen runners below straightened their backs in unison.

"Issue my order!" Su Shi cleared his throat, his voice not loud, but it boomed like thunder in everyone's ears, "Starting today, post notices in all prefectures and counties of Jiangnan Circuit. The rules for this autumn's provincial examinations have changed!"

The clerks below quickly picked up their pens, dipped them in ink, and their ears perked up like rabbits.

"Firstly, the weight of the poetry, prose, and classical texts subjects will be reduced to 30%."

"Secondly, the weighting of the essay section in the exam has been increased to 70%!"

Thirdly, the essay topics will no longer be drawn from the Four Books and Five Classics! Anything related to practical matters such as agriculture, water conservancy, finance, law, and commerce can be used as exam questions!

The clerks' hands, gripping their pens, jerked violently, and a drop of thick ink splattered onto the paper, spreading out in a large, glaring black smear.

The group exchanged glances, and they all saw two words in each other's eyes: Holy crap!

"My lord..." the head clerk said, mustering his courage, "This...this change is too drastic! Once the notice is issued, the scholars of Jiangnan will probably turn the world upside down!"

"Causing trouble?" Su Shi snorted coldly, recalling Jiang Lin's calm and collected face, his confidence instantly surged, "I am the Imperial Examination Administrator of Jiangnan Circuit, appointed by His Majesty! How the examination is conducted, what it covers, is entirely up to me! Anyone who disagrees is free to refuse to take the exam! I will not stop them!"

"Results announced!"

At a single command, dozens of fast horses galloped out of Hangzhou, like thunderclaps, sending this proclamation—enough to cause a major earthquake in the Jiangnan region—to all the prefectures and counties.

On the very first day the news broke, teahouses and taverns throughout Hangzhou were in an uproar.

Inside a private room at Wanghu Tower, several scholars in Confucian robes surrounded a copied notice, their faces turning green with anger.

"Absurd! Utterly absurd!" A scholar with a goatee slammed his fist on the table, making his teacup jump. "Poetry and classical texts are the proper path to the imperial examinations! And Su Shi only gives them a 30% weight? What happened to all the time we spent studying the classics for ten years?!"

"Exactly!" A young scholar beside him exclaimed, his face flushed. "Agriculture, sericulture, water conservancy, finance, commerce, and industry? Those are lowly professions for peasants and merchants! To make us scholars take exams in these fields is simply an insult to our culture!"

"I think Su Shi has been possessed by Jiang Lin of the Jingshi Academy! He's trying to uproot the literary tradition of our Great Song Dynasty!"

The door to the private room was kicked open with a bang.

Qian Duoduo, holding a plate of melon seeds, leaned against the door frame, grinning as he watched the group of exasperated "cultured people" inside.

"Hey, gentlemen, you're having quite the show with your insults, aren't you?"

"Who do you think you are? Get out!" The goatee-bearded scholar was already seething with anger.

Qian Duoduo wasn't angry. He slowly spat out the sunflower seed shells and chuckled, "I may not be anything special, but I know that the exam was set by Lord Su, not you gentlemen. No matter how loudly you curse, the exam won't turn into poetry questions. If you're so capable, then don't give the exam."

One sentence silenced the scholars.

Not taking the exam? How could that be! Ten years of hard work, all for passing the imperial examination and bringing glory to our ancestors! If we don't take the exam now, won't those ten years have been wasted?

"You...you dare to be so arrogant!" The young scholar pointed at Qian Duoduo, his words fierce but his heart pounding. "We'll immediately submit a joint petition to the authorities and accuse Su Shi of arbitrarily altering ancestral rules!"

"Go ahead, go ahead." Qian Duoduo stepped aside, gesturing for him to proceed, her sneer practically overflowing. "The yamen faces south, so you can sue anyone you want. But let me remind you, Lord Su has received an imperial decree. Are you trying to file a lawsuit against the emperor? Tsk tsk, don't end up losing your heads before you even get a chance to take the imperial examinations."

The scholars who had been so indignant just moments before suddenly deflated like punctured balloons, plopping back into their chairs, their faces as white as paper.

Qian Duoduo sneered, turned around and left, humming a little tune as she went.

So they chickened out already? The headmaster is right, these scholars are incredibly weak-willed. As long as you hold them hostage—their lifeline of "becoming officials"—they'll do whatever you ask!

Meanwhile, in another place, the scene was quite different.

The bulletin board was crowded with poor students dressed in coarse linen clothes. As they looked at the new regulations for the provincial examination, their eyes welled up with tears, and they almost knelt down on the spot.

"Agriculture...water conservancy...finance..." a dark-skinned student murmured, tears streaming down his face. "Heaven has eyes! These...these are the things we learn every day at the academy!"

"That's right! Last month, Mr. Shen took us to West Lake to measure earthwork; that's practical water conservancy work!"

"The double-entry bookkeeping method taught by the money manager is practical accounting for money and supplies!"

"Brothers! This incredible wealth is finally ours!!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd erupted in a deafening frenzy!

Jiang Lin stood by the railing, looking down at the faces below, which were contorted with ecstasy, and smiled faintly.

"That's right," he said softly.

Standing beside him, Zhao Lingjun watched the scene unfold, his heart filled with emotion: "Headmaster, your move to strike at the heart of the matter is truly brilliant. Those scions of wealthy families, who have studied for over a decade, have had their advantages wiped out overnight. On the contrary, those students with real skills and practical abilities have become the standard answer!"

"That's called a dimensional reduction attack," Jiang Lin said lazily, leaning against the railing. "Why can powerful families monopolize officialdom? Because they have money and leisure. They can spend ten years figuring out how to rhyme a single line of poetry. Poor students can't even fill their stomachs, how can they have that kind of free time?"

"But now, the rules have changed. When it comes to farming, accounting, or how to repair river embankments, those pampered young masters from wealthy families who never lift a finger know absolutely nothing!"

Jiang Lin turned to look at Zhao Lingjun, his eyes revealing a calm that seemed to see through everything: "What I want is to wed these people who truly understand the hardships of the common people and know how to get things done, like nails, into the officialdom of the Song Dynasty. Only when they get in will this wrecked ship not sink."

Zhao Lingjun nodded emphatically, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Jiang Lin's profile. This guy, who was usually so lazy and could shut people up with his sharp tongue, actually had the world in his heart.

"By the way, how are things going with Qian Duoduo's side?" Jiang Lin suddenly asked.

"It's all set!" Zhao Lingjun chuckled. "That fat guy has been working like crazy these past few days, printing thousands of copies of 'True Essays on Statecraft' with the printing press, just waiting for those pedantic scholars to come begging for them."

Jiang Lin snapped his fingers in satisfaction: "Tell Duoduo not to rush to sell. Let them wait a couple of days. Wait until they're as anxious as ants on a hot pan before you start selling. Remember, only sell a hundred copies on the first day. Play the scarcity marketing game."

Zhao Lingjun's eyes lit up: "Headmaster, you're too ruthless! Are you trying to drive those scholars to their deaths?"

Jiang Lin stretched and yawned: "It would be better if they were crazy."

"If you want to become an official, how can you do it without paying some 'stupidity tax'?"