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

The back hall of the yamen was so quiet that only the sound of Zhao Lingjun pacing back and forth could be heard.

Su Shi held a teacup that had long since gone cold, looking as worried as a shopkeeper on the verge of bankruptcy. Zhao Lingjun's hand rested on the hilt of his embroidered spring knife, the scabbard occasionally tapping against the table leg, as agitated as a mother leopard guarding her prey.

Jiang Lin casually tossed the gold-embossed invitation onto the table and slumped into the armchair as if he had no bones.

"Hey you two, broaden your perspective. There were hundreds of people wailing outside just now and you weren't trembling, but now an old man who's half-buried is handing you a piece of scrap paper, and you're all scared like this?" Jiang Lin laughed in exasperation.

Su Shi slammed down his teacup and sighed, "Headmaster, you don't understand. The Lu family of Wu County is not some nouveau riche like the Lin family who just have a couple of coins in their pockets. They are a true century-old prestigious family, the real local tyrants of Jiangnan."

Jiang Lin shifted into a more comfortable sitting position, his interest piqued: "Tell me more, what kind of local tyrant are you?"

Su Shi organized his thoughts and began to speak at length: "The Lu family has been passed down for hundreds of years, and its foundation is unfathomable. They think doing business is beneath them and never show their faces in public. But in Jiangnan, the silk, tea, salt, and iron industries are all controlled by them. So-called giant grain merchants like the Lin and Wang families are, to put it bluntly, just front men sent out by the Lu family to do the dirty work for them."

"Not only that," Zhao Lingjun stopped and added coldly, "In the Imperial City Guard's archives, the Lu family is practically a monster. Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, they have produced three prime ministers and more than a dozen ministers. Right now, half of the officials in the court are either related to them or are protégés of the Lu family. If Old Master Lu coughs even once, the entire capital will tremble."

After listening, Jiang Lin stroked his chin. The case was solved.

The "pre-sale contract" he orchestrated was intended to fleece the Lin family and other speculators. However, he went too far and drove the Lin family to the brink of ruin, which was tantamount to cutting off the Lu family's lifeline.

No wonder the Lu family couldn't sit still; the big player behind the scenes personally stepped in to support the market.

"No wonder the old man's words scared the Lin family head like he'd seen a living ancestor." Jiang Lin sneered. "It seems the Lu family thinks I've threatened their core interests and wants to drag me over to teach them a lesson."

Zhao Lingjun walked up to Jiang Lin, his eyes extremely serious: "Jiang Lin, you absolutely cannot go to Taihu Lake. That's the Lu family's stronghold, and Taihu Lake is full of their pirates and private soldiers. If you go alone, and they overturn the table, you won't even have a whole corpse left! At worst, we can pretend we didn't see anything. With the Imperial City Guard and the Prefectural Government here, I don't believe he would dare to directly lead troops to attack Hangzhou."

Seeing Zhao Lingjun's nervous expression, Jiang Lin felt a warmth in his heart.

He waved his hand: "I can't not go. They've practically shoved the invitation in my face. If I back down, the reputation our academy has worked so hard to build will be ruined right here and now. Besides, if the Lu family really wanted to break off relations, they wouldn't just send a butler to go through the motions. They want to sit down and talk about profit sharing with me."

Su Shi nodded with a forced smile: "The headmaster is right. The Lu family is powerful, but they don't dare to openly raise the flag of rebellion. However, headmaster, it would be no different for you to go alone than to send yourself to your death."

"Who said I went alone?" Jiang Lin stood up and put his arm around Su Shi's shoulder. "Zizhan, you are the prefect of Hangzhou, the rightful and proper official in charge of the people of Jiangnan. You have to come with me to make this a grand affair!"

Su Shi's legs twitched, but he gritted his teeth and persevered: "Fine! I'll go wherever the headmaster points. At worst, we'll fight them to the death!"

Upon hearing that there was no work for her, Zhao Lingjun became anxious: "What about me? I want to go too! I'll bring all the Imperial Guards! If the Lu family dares to play dirty tricks, I'll wipe out their lousy island!"

Jiang Lin quickly smoothed things over: "Hey, hey, put away your murderous aura. We're going to discuss cooperation and make some gold coins, not to wipe out an entire family. If you bring an army, they'll think we're going to raid their homes. You can go, but bring two of your best bodyguards. Once we're on the island, you'll be under my command."

Zhao Lingjun gritted his teeth and nodded reluctantly: "Fine. But if they dare to lay a finger on you, I guarantee Lake Tai will be dyed red today."

Jiang Lin put away the invitation and stretched: "Alright, everyone go back to wash up and go to sleep. Tomorrow we'll go meet the final boss of Jiangnan and see what tricks he has up his sleeve."

The next morning, Jiang Lin, Su Shi, and Zhao Lingjun (who was disguised as a man) arrived at the shore of Taihu Lake on time, accompanied by two elite guards from the Imperial City Guard.

Lu Fu was already waiting at the dock. A huge, extremely arrogant pleasure boat was moored on the shore, without even a sail, relying entirely on dozens of burly men to row and paddle.

"Jiangshan, Prefect Su, Young Master Zhao, please." Lu Fu stood at the bow of the boat, adopting an extremely haughty posture.

Jiang Lin strolled leisurely aboard the boat, glancing around casually. Good heavens, they really spared no expense; the tables and chairs were all made of rosewood, and the tables were laden with seasonal fresh fruits and top-grade tribute tea.

The painted boat slowly departed from the shore, cutting through the waves and heading into the depths of Taihu Lake. Jiang Lin sat by the window, watching the scenery with the composure of an old dog.

This is clearly a show of force. The fact that they can sail around in such a flashy boat in a bandit-infested area like Taihu Lake is enough to prove that even the fish in this waterway are from the Lu family.

After drifting on the water for more than an hour, a huge island appeared on the horizon. The island was covered in colorful forests, and clusters of ancient buildings could be vaguely seen.

"Jiangshan, the island in the middle of the lake belonging to the Lu family is just ahead. The old master has been waiting for you for a long time." Lu Fu approached, his tone carrying a hint of arrogant self-righteousness.

Jiang Lin stood up and straightened his clothes.

He knew the main event was about to begin.