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

The atmosphere in the main hall of the Lin family mansion was frighteningly oppressive.

The heads of these prominent families in Jiangnan were pacing back and forth like ants on a hot pan, sweating profusely with anxiety.

"Brother Lin, what exactly happened! My men have searched all over Zhejiang Province, but they haven't been able to buy a single grain, let alone a single hair!"

The head of the Wang family was so anxious that he slapped his thigh repeatedly: "Our Wang family signed a contract for 80,000 shi of grain! Ten times the penalty for breach of contract, that's 800,000 guan! We'd be bankrupt even if we sold our ancestral home!"

The Lin family head's face was dark, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged as he gripped the armrests of the armchair tightly.

"What's the panic!" He raised his voice forcefully. "That little bastard Jiang Lin secretly bought up all the grain, trying to fleece us. But he overlooked one thing: there's no grain in Jiangnan, but we can get it from other places!"

"I've dispatched the fastest ship, carrying 100,000 strings of cash, to Huguang to collect grain day and night! As soon as the grain arrives, Jiang Lin's scheme will collapse on the spot. I'll make him cough up his principal and interest!"

Hearing this, the other family heads finally caught their breath.

"Yes, yes, let's go via the Grand Canal! Ten days is enough time for a fast boat to make a round trip." The head of the Wang family took out a handkerchief and frantically wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

However, what they didn't know was that a devastating attack was unfolding on the Grand Canal at that very moment.

Runzhou Sluice Gate, a vital passage for the Grand Canal to enter the Jiangnan region.

Dozens of Lin family merchant ships, fully loaded with grain, were blocked outside the lock.

The Lin family steward was so anxious he jumped up and down, yelling at the water conservancy officials on the shore, "What's going on? Why won't you let us pass! Our boat is carrying life-saving food! Can you afford to take responsibility if we delay it?!"

On the shore, an official dressed in the Ministry of Works' uniform pointed with a bitter expression at the bronze gate that was stuck in mid-air and motionless.

"Manager Lin, it's not that we're holding them back, the gate is completely paralyzed! The gears inside are completely jammed, and even hundreds of pullers couldn't budge it an inch."

Manager Lin flew into a rage: "If it's broken, fix it! Are you all just sitting around doing nothing?!"

"It can't be fixed." The official spread his hands. "All the craftsmen in the city have come to see it, and none of them can understand the mechanism. This gate was designed exclusively by Mr. Shen Kuo of Jingshi Academy, and only he can fix it."

Upon hearing the words "Jingshi Academy," Manager Lin's heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Then hurry and go invite Mr. Shen!"

"I invited him long ago! But Mr. Shen said he was in seclusion researching some kind of 'aerodynamics' and declined visitors. By the time he came out of seclusion, ten days or half a month had already passed."

Manager Lin nearly fainted on the spot. Ten days to half a month? The handover date had long passed; the Lin family could just wait to hang themselves!

"No! We can't wait! Break the dam by force!" Manager Lin was completely enraged and ordered his servants to rush ashore.

Just then, a squad of fully armed Imperial Guards suddenly appeared from the woods on the shore.

Leading the group was Zhao Lingjun, disguised as a man. Dressed in a black outfit, she gleamed the Imperial City Guard token in her hand, looking at Steward Lin as if he were a dead man.

"Imperial City Guard is handling this case! Anyone who dares to storm the sluice gate will be charged with treason and executed without exception!" Zhao Lingjun's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling murderous aura.

Manager Lin and his servants were dumbfounded.

The Imperial City Guard? Those are the emperor's personal troops, living devils who execute first and report later. They wouldn't dare to mess with the Imperial City Guard even if they had a hundred lives.

"Sir...we...we just want to transport grain over there..." Steward Lin's legs went weak, and he knelt down on the deck with a thud.

Zhao Lingjun looked at him coldly: "The Grand Canal's sluice gates are malfunctioning, and the imperial court is working hard to repair them. If you can't wait, you can take the land route."

By land? Manager Lin almost burst into tears.

Transporting hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain by land would take more than half a month just to hire horse-drawn carts and laborers, as the mountain roads were too rugged to make it possible!

This road has been completely welded shut.

The news reached the Lin family mansion in Hangzhou three days before the closing date.

Upon hearing the report, the Lin family head rolled his eyes and fell straight backward.

"Master! Master, wake up!" The butler rushed over and desperately pinched his philtrum.

The Lin family head slowly woke up, felt a tightness in his chest, and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

"It's over...it's all over..." He collapsed to the ground, his face ashen. "The canal is blocked, the Imperial City Guard has sealed off the roads...Jiang Lin is trying to kill us!"

The Wang family head and the others were also trembling. They finally realized just how terrifying a monster they had provoked.

This isn't business; holding core technologies and a violent apparatus, this is a one-sided massacre!

"Brother Lin, what do we do now! If we can't pay the grain tax, we'll have to pay millions of strings of cash, not even enough to cover the losses of our entire family!" The head of the Wang family cried.

The head of the Lin family bit his lip until it bled, then roared, "We can't just admit defeat like this! Go find Su Shi! The contract was stamped and endorsed by his government office; we'll go and beat the drum to appeal for justice and force him to abolish the contract!"

As if grasping at a last straw, a group of powerful family heads marched in a grand procession toward the Hangzhou prefectural government office.

At that moment, in the back hall of the yamen, Su Shi was looking at the official documents in his hands and sighing repeatedly. He had already heard the commotion outside.

Jiang Lin leaned back in a grand chair, crossed his legs, and leisurely peeled an orange.

"Zizhan, broaden your horizons, don't worry." Jiang Lin tossed a segment of orange into his mouth. "The fish are already in the net, it's time to haul them in and eat them."

Su Shi rubbed his throbbing temples: "Your move was brilliant. But if you push the Jiangnan aristocratic families too hard, I'm afraid they'll become desperate and cause trouble in the city."

Jiang Lin burst out laughing: "Cause trouble? They don't even deserve it. Lingjun's Imperial City Guard has already taken over the military camps outside the city. If they dare to make any trouble, we can just slap a charge on them and confiscate their property, and we'll be completely wiped out."

Just then, a yamen runner came running in, tumbling and stumbling: "Sir! The head of the Lin family, along with dozens of noblemen, is beating the drum outside the yamen, demanding to see you!"

Jiang Lin patted the orange peel off his hands and slowly stood up.

"Let's go, Zizhan." A hint of mockery flashed in Jiang Lin's eyes. "Let's see what pathetic faces these usually arrogant patriarchs are now. Let's see how I teach them a lesson."