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

In the twelfth month of the first year of the Jiayou era, heavy snow blocked the door.

The snowflakes, as white as goose feathers, seemed to bury the entire city of Runzhou, making the world blindingly white. But inside the lecture hall of Jingshi Academy, the atmosphere was as lively as a pot of boiling red oil hot pot.

This was the last lesson for these students at the academy.

Jiang Lin didn't lecture on classical texts or policy discussions. Instead, he held his iconic folding fan and drew a "career advancement roadmap" on the blackboard that only modern people could understand.

"Zizhan, stand up."

Jiang Lin pointed to a circle on the blackboard. "Suppose you are now a Hanlin scholar, and your boss is a stubborn old pedant who insists you revise your manuscript, turning your beautiful essay into a nonsensical eight-legged essay. What would you do?"

Su Shi was taken aback for a moment, then straightened his neck and said, "That's a desecration of literature! Of course, I will argue my case and refuse to do it!"

"wrong."

Jiang Lin tapped the table with his folding fan. "Zero points."

Su Shi looked indignant: "Then what should I do? Should I flatter you against my will?"

"That's called 'emotional intelligence in the workplace,' not flattery."

Jiang Lin sighed, feeling exasperated. "You should smile and say to him, 'Your insight is brilliant! But if we revise the article according to your suggestion, the world might not understand your deeper meaning. Perhaps we can find a compromise...' Remember, saving face for your superior is saving face for yourself."

Su Shi was dumbfounded, while Su Zhe next to him nodded thoughtfully and wrote in his notebook: When facing a stupid boss, you can't confront him head-on, you have to use a roundabout approach.

For the entire morning, Jiang Lin was instilling in him a "life-saving technique" in addition to the "dragon-slaying technique".

He knew Su Shi all too well. This guy was incredibly talented, but his political intelligence was practically nonexistent. Historically, he was demoted for life simply because of his sharp tongue. In this life, Jiang Lin had to install a "mouth filter" for him.

……

At noon, the bell rang.

Jiang Lin put down the chalk in his hand, patted the dust off his hands, and glanced at the three young but transformed faces below the stage.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Su Shi, Su Zhe, and Zeng Gong seemed to sense something was amiss; they remained silent, staring intently at their teacher.

"Alright, stop staring at me like that, it's creepy."

Jiang Lin walked back to the rattan chair and sat down, picked up the teacup and took a sip, his tone as calm as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.

"The lesson is over. You can all get out of here now."

Although he was mentally prepared, Su Shi's eyes instantly reddened when he actually said those words.

"gentlemen……"

Su Shi took a step forward, his voice trembling slightly, "This student...doesn't want to leave. There are still so many books we haven't finished reading at the academy, and so many of your skills we haven't fully learned..."

"Learning has no end; are you planning to stay here with me forever?"

Jiang Lin interrupted him, his gaze fixed on the swirling snow outside the window. "Runzhou is too small. This tiny pond can only support a few grass carp, not you dragons that are about to transform into dragons."

He stood up, took a copy of the official gazette from his sleeve, and threw it on the table.

"Take a look. This is the imperial edict that was just issued."

Zeng Gong stepped forward, picked up the official gazette, and read aloud: "In the spring of the second year of the Jiayou reign, a special imperial examination was held to recruit talented individuals from all over the country..."

"Next year is a big year for the imperial examinations."

Jiang Lin's voice turned somewhat low, "All the smart people in the world will flock to Bianjing next year. That's your battlefield, not mine."

"But sir..." Su Zhe was also somewhat reluctant, "If we leave, you'll be all alone..."

"I'm happy to have some peace and quiet."

Jiang Lin waved his hand, looking disgusted, "It saves me the trouble of taking care of your food, drink, and toilet needs every day. You guys are going to eat up all the money in my account."

……

A brief silence fell over the lecture hall.

The sorrow of parting is as heavy as the snow falling from the sky.

"Stop crying, all of you!"

Jiang Lin suddenly shouted, his lazy aura vanishing instantly. He walked up to the three men, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over their eyes one by one.

"Since you're leaving, let's establish some rules."

Jiang Lin held up three fingers.

"This time, thousands of scholars from all over the country have come to the capital for the imperial examinations, but only three or four hundred will pass the provincial examinations, and even fewer will pass the metropolitan examinations. But I have only one requirement for you."

Su Shi rubbed his eyes, straightened his back, and asked, "Sir, please give your instructions! Is it certain that I will pass the imperial examination?"

"A Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination)?"

Jiang Lin scoffed, as if he had heard a joke. "That's the standard for ordinary people. You're from Jingshi Academy. If you only pass the imperial examination as an ordinary scholar, don't call yourself my student."

He held up three fingers and shook them, speaking slowly and deliberately, with a firm and resounding tone:

"I want three of you to be in the top ten of the palace examination; you must occupy at least three of the spots."

hiss--

The three of them gasped.

Three of them are in the top ten nationwide?

This is utterly arrogant! You must understand that in the imperial examinations of all dynasties, it was considered a blessing if a prefecture could produce even one Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), let alone for a single academy to sweep three of the top ten spots!

"What? Scared?"

Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow, a hint of provocation in his eyes. "You dominated the county and prefectural exams, but you chickened out when you got to the capital? Looks like my three years of dragon-slaying skills have been wasted."

"Don't be afraid!"

Su Shi was so aroused that his blood boiled and he knelt on the ground with a thud, the floor making a dull sound.

"I, Su Shi, swear to the heavens! If I do not make it into the top ten, I will not return to Jiangdong!"

Zeng Gong and Su Zhe followed suit, kneeling heavily and declaring, "Your students will certainly not disgrace your teacher!"

Looking at the three boys kneeling in the light and shadow of the snow, the sternness in Jiang Lin's eyes finally turned into that familiar, slightly roguish smile.

"it is good."

"These are my students."

Jiang Lin bent down to help them up and patted the dust off Su Shi's knees.

"Remember, once you arrive in the capital, don't cause trouble, but don't be afraid of trouble either. If anyone dares to bully you in academic matters..."

Jiang Lin paused, a fiercely protective smile curving his lips:

"Then let's slap him in the face with an article. If anything goes wrong, I'll cover for you."

……

That afternoon, the academy was closed for the holiday.

Su Shi and his two companions went back to pack their bags, preparing to set off after the New Year.

Jiang Lin stood alone under the corridor of the lecture hall, watching the heavy snow turn the whole world white.

He knew that he had just pressed the fast forward button on history.

Jiayou's second year.

That was a year of brilliant stars. Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zeng Gong, Zhang Zai, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi... these names would compete on the same stage. It was the most dazzling explosion in the literary world of the Song Dynasty, known as the "Eternal Dragon and Tiger List".

Now, the three tigers he personally raised are about to descend the mountain and plunge into the jungle of history.

"Ouyang Xiu, oh Ouyang Xiu..."

Jiang Lin exhaled a puff of white breath, looked northward, and muttered to himself, "I've sent this gift to you. I hope your heart is strong enough not to be scared out of its wits by these three monsters."

Behind him, Qian Duoduo walked over silently, holding a thick cloak in her hand, and draped it over Jiang Lin.

"Sir, are you really willing to part with it?"

"I can bear to." Jiang Lin pulled his cloak tighter. "The kids are all grown up. They need to get a good beating so they'll know how delicious home-cooked meals are."

"So... what's our plan?"

"Start it up."

Jiang Lin turned around, his eyes instantly sharpening. "While they're in the capital, reduce the paper mill's costs by another 30%. Once the news of their top scholar ranking arrives..."

"I want to make 'Jing Shi Zhi' (a type of ancient Chinese writing paper) cover every desk in the Song Dynasty."