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

Half a month later, in Bianjing City, at the residence of Grand Tutor Cai.

Cai Jing sat behind his desk, clutching a secret report delivered urgently from Jiangnan. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and the atmosphere in the study was so oppressive that not even a fly dared to fly.

The secret report detailed the earth-shaking changes that had taken place in Jiangnan over the past month.

Su Shi not only avoided being implicated in the examination fraud scandal, but also achieved legendary status by passing the practical examinations. The censor Liu An, whom he sent, was publicly humiliated and slunk back to Bianjing.

What troubled Cai Jing even more was the grain price storm. Jiang Lin, the academy's headmaster who appeared out of nowhere, actually came up with a "pre-sale wheat contract" that no one had ever seen before.

This move completely ripped off the Jiangnan aristocratic families, leaving them with nothing but their underwear, and snatched away a huge sum of three million strings of cash from their hands!

Now, the entire Jiangnan region's food supply is firmly in the grasp of that damned "Great Song Jiangnan Grain Reserve Bank." This master and apprentice duo have joined forces to create an impenetrable fortress around Jiangnan.

"A bunch of good-for-nothings! All just feeding the enemy kills!"

Cai Jing slammed his hand on the table, causing the inkstone to overturn and ink to splatter everywhere. Several trusted officials standing below him trembled in fear, not daring to breathe.

"That idiot Liu An! I sent him to investigate fraud, and he got out of hand and got outsmarted! He's humiliated me, Cai Jing!" Cai Jing cursed through gritted teeth.

An official in a scarlet robe cautiously stepped forward and bowed: "Grand Tutor, please calm your anger. Liu An is foolish, but Jiang Lin's methods are indeed wicked. I consulted several of the most senior accountants in the Ministry of Revenue to see how he plays the 'Maiqi' game, and no one could figure out how he emptied the coffers of the powerful families."

"If you don't understand, go look it up for me!" Cai Jing roared. "Jiangnan is the imperial treasury! Now this treasury is hanging on the belt of a commoner! How am I supposed to explain this to the emperor?!"

Another official swallowed hard and muttered under his breath, "Grand Tutor... I've also heard rumors. A few days ago, a huge sum of 500,000 strings of cash went directly into the Imperial Treasury through a secret passage in the Imperial City Guard. The pretext was... the dividends from the financial reform in Jiangnan."

Cai Jing paused, stared intently at the official, and suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"Five hundred thousand strings of cash? It went into the imperial treasury?" Cai Jing laughed in anger. "What a Jiang Lin, what a Su Shi! Using money from the powerful families of Jiangnan to pay protection money to the emperor! Once the emperor accepts this money, he'll naturally turn a blind eye to their antics in Jiangnan. This is a brilliant example of using someone else's wealth to curry favor!"

Cai Jing paced back and forth in his study, his mind racing. With this 500,000 strings of cash, the emperor would be Su Shi's most trusted patron. If he wanted to openly impeach Su Shi in court, the emperor would definitely evade the question.

"If open attacks don't work, then we'll resort to covert ones." Cai Jing stopped and sneered. "Didn't they set up a bank? Claiming to have three million strings of cash in reserves? Such a huge piece of meat, I don't believe their accounts are completely clean, without a single penny embezzled!"

He turned his head sharply and stared at the official in the scarlet robe.

"Lord Wang, you are the Vice Minister of Revenue. I will personally recommend you to the Emperor as Imperial Envoy to inspect the salt, iron, tea, and grain industries in the south. Take the most astute accountants from the Ministry of Revenue to Hangzhou and thoroughly investigate this bank for me! As long as you uncover even the slightest evidence of unclear accounts, I can kill Su Shi in the court!"

Vice Minister Wang trembled and immediately knelt down to pledge his loyalty: "Your humble servant obeys! I will thoroughly investigate Jiang Lin's past!"

"Remember, gather evidence discreetly, and once you have solid proof, arrest him immediately!" Cai Jing gritted his teeth, enunciating each word clearly. "If it's confirmed that Jiang Lin has engaged in treasonous activities to amass wealth, execute him on the spot without needing permission!"

……

Hangzhou, the headquarters of the Jiangnan Grain Reserve Bank of the Great Song Dynasty.

This place was converted from the outer courtyard of Jingshi Academy, and today the main hall was bustling with activity. Countless ordinary people and individual households lined up in long queues, clutching copper coins and grain to exchange for that thin "grain storage coupon".

Li Gefei, dressed in a blue robe, stood behind the long counter, skillfully directing his staff, along with the former heads of the aristocratic families who had been incorporated into the organization, to check the accounts.

The head of the Lin family was dressed in a gray cloth outfit with a towel draped around his neck, and was smiling obsequiously as he tried to sell his business to an old farmer.

"Sir, if you deposit these ten bushels of wheat, after one year we'll give you an extra half a bushel of interest in addition to your principal. This is called annualized return; you're guaranteed to make a profit! Keep the money safe; we only recognize the money, not the person!"

The Lin family patriarch smiled more sincerely than when he was a great philanthropist. There was no other way; Jiang Lin had set the KPIs, and a single complaint would result in a half-month deduction from wages. Poor performance could lead to being "laid off," and the entire family depended on this for their livelihood.

Just as things were getting lively, a chaotic shouting suddenly erupted outside the bank's main entrance.

A group of constables dressed in flying fish robes and carrying embroidered spring knives at their waists rudely broke through the queue and stormed into the hall with murderous intent.

The leader, dressed in plain clothes, held his chin high, his face radiating an air of superiority. He was none other than Lord Wang, the Vice Minister of Revenue and Imperial Envoy who had come from Bianjing.

He glanced disdainfully around the lobby and said coldly, "Who's in charge here?"

Li Gefei frowned slightly, walked around from behind the counter, and cupped his hands in greeting: "I am Li Gefei, the bank manager. May I ask how I should address you?"

Lord Wang sneered, his eyes full of disdain: "Bank manager? A makeshift operation dares to call itself that! I am an imperial envoy, ordered to inspect the finances of Jiangnan! Someone has filed a formal complaint against your black-market shop for illegally profiting and embezzling taxes! Guards, clear the place out and seal it off! Take all the account books back to the post station for a thorough investigation!"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the people in line.

"Seize it? What about the money and supplies we just deposited?!"

"Sir, isn't there some misunderstanding here...?"

The hall was on the verge of turning into a chaotic stampede. Li Gefei, however, took a deep breath and stood ramrod straight. The headmaster had already warned him that the imperial court would definitely come looking for trouble.

"Your Excellency, our bank is an official institution bearing the seal of the Hangzhou Prefectural Government." Li Gefei looked directly at the other party. "If Your Excellency wishes to inspect the accounts, we will gladly welcome you. But if you forcibly close the doors, triggering a city-wide uprising, can Your Excellency bear the responsibility for that?"

Lord Wang seemed to have heard the most outrageous joke: "What a sharp-tongued, cunning commoner! Trying to intimidate me with a peasant uprising? I bear the imperial decree; the land of Jiangnan is not for you to dictate! Seal the gates!"

The constables immediately drew their fire-and-water sticks, preparing to forcibly smash the counter and drive away the crowd.

"Let's see who dares to take a single step!"

A clear, cold shout rang out from outside the gate.

Zhao Lingjun, dressed in a striking red outfit, strode in with a dozen fully armed Imperial Guards. She gripped a riding whip, staring at Lord Wang as if he were already dead.

When Lord Wang saw the Imperial City Guard's attire, his heart skipped a beat, but relying on his status as an imperial envoy, he braced himself and retorted, "Imperial City Guard? I am here on imperial orders to investigate a case. What, is the Imperial City Guard trying to overstep its authority?"

Zhao Lingjun sneered and walked straight up to him: "Minister Wang, you've got quite the airs. You can investigate any case you want, but sealing off the gate? Absolutely not. The account books here are related to the livelihoods of millions of people in Jiangnan. If the gates are closed today, Jiangnan will face famine tomorrow. Do you believe I can humiliate you right now on charges of 'plotting rebellion and inciting riots'?"

Lord Wang's blood pressure soared with anger: "You...you're defying an imperial decree!"

"The label of disobeying imperial orders is too heavy for us to bear."

A lazy yawn drifted slowly from the back room. Jiang Lin, wearing cloth shoes and carrying a purple clay teapot, strolled out looking like he hadn't woken up yet.

"What's all this barking about so early in the morning?" Jiang Lin walked up to Zhao Lingjun, glanced at Lord Wang, and said, "Imperial Envoy, is that right? You want to see the account books, right? Fine, Ge Fei, bring out all the account books from the storeroom so the Imperial Envoy can see them all at once."

Jiang Lin paused, a roguish smile playing on his lips: "But let me make this clear from the start. If no problem is found, Lord Wang will have to personally kowtow to the people queuing up at the academy gate today."

Lord Wang's face turned green at Jiang Lin's lawless behavior.

"Very well! Very well! Today I will make sure you die knowing exactly what happened! Move all the account books to the back room! Gentlemen of the Ministry of Revenue, scrutinize every single account! If you find even a single coin missing, I will immediately sever your heads!"

Jiang Lin waved his hand dismissively: "Take care, and remember to drink plenty of water. Don't try to pull any tricks."

Watching Lord Wang storm into the back hall with several burly, glaring old accountants, Li Gefei couldn't help but feel a little uneasy and leaned close to Jiang Lin's ear.

"Headmaster... that's a top accountant who's been on the government payroll for decades, are you sure there won't be any problems?"

Jiang Lin reached out and patted Li Gefei's shoulder hard, his smile particularly irritating.

"The scope has been broadened. The double-entry bookkeeping system I developed would baffle even the most powerful officials in the Song Dynasty's Ministry of Revenue, let alone all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens. Moreover, I've left them with a huge 'surprise' in the ledgers."