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

After a brief commotion, the main hall of Fanlou fell silent once more. The air was still thick with the lingering smell of gunpowder, the warmth of the previous two battles.

"The third round, policy discussion."

Ouyang Xiu's voice was calm and authoritative: "The policy essay must be presented on the spot, with a time limit of half an hour. After the questions are answered, both sides will present their answers, and the judges will determine the winner on the spot."

He looked at Liu Chang, whose face was gloomy: "Chancellor Liu, please give me a question."

Liu Chang slowly stood up, his gaze fixed on Jiang Lin like a venomous snake. The crushing defeats of the previous two matches had humiliated him, and at this moment, he was like a gambler who had lost everything and bet all his wealth.

The two walked to the center of the field and stood facing each other.

Liu Chang sneered and threw out the "dead end" he had prepared in advance:

"topic--"

"On defending against the Liao. The Song Dynasty has been established for a hundred years, yet the Liao threat has never ceased. Let us discuss how to keep the enemy at bay."

The moment this question was posed, the entire audience gasped.

Sima Guang frowned and whispered to Wang Anshi, "This question is too vicious. Advocating war is suicide, advocating peace is treason. No matter how we answer, we'll be put on the spot. Liu Chang is determined to put Jiang Lin to death."

Wang Anshi nodded: "An unsolvable dilemma. What can a commoner scholar possibly do to solve a problem that has plagued five generations of emperors in the Song Dynasty?"

Liu Chang spoke first, his voice loud and clear, speaking eloquently:

There are essentially three strategies for defending against the Liao.

"Firstly, hold firm. Strengthen border defenses, repair city walls, and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out."

"Secondly, appeasement. Although paying tribute was humiliating, it brought a century of peace. We exchanged wealth for time and gradually worked towards self-strengthening."

"Thirdly, alliances. Unite with Western Xia and Goryeo, forming alliances to contain the Liao Dynasty."

He looked around, beaming with pride: "These three policies are the fundamental national policies of our Great Song Dynasty for the past hundred years. Although they cannot be accomplished in one battle, they can ensure the stability of the nation."

Liu Chang stood tall and proud, his bearing righteous and awe-inspiring:

"Our Imperial Academy's strategy is based on 'benevolence'! Although we sent tribute, we preserved the lives of people in both the Song and Liao dynasties. Buying peace with money is true wisdom! Only warmongers would think of bloodshed!"

He pointed at Jiang Lin, standing on the moral high ground:

"Jiang Lin, if you advocate war, you will be a butcher who disregards the lives of all people!"

The atmosphere was heavy. That's a huge overstatement.

After listening, Jiang Lin didn't say anything, but first smiled.

He chuckled softly, then laughed loudly, until he was doubled over with laughter, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"What are you laughing at?!" Liu Chang shouted angrily.

Jiang Lin abruptly fell silent, his eyes instantly turning icy cold:

"I'm laughing at you for kneeling for so long that you can't stand up."

"Who told you that defending against an enemy always involves bloodshed? Who told you that war always has to be fought with swords?"

Jiang Lin neither ground ink nor laid out paper.

In full view of everyone, he pulled a thin, white stick from his sleeve.

"Is that a hidden weapon?" someone exclaimed.

"Dark my foot, that's chalk," Jiang Lin thought to himself.

He walked to a blackboard that had been set up long ago—his "secret weapon" prepared especially for today.

"Liu Jijiu, since you like spending money, then I'll teach you how to use it."

"You say paying tribute is buying peace? Wrong! It's aiding the enemy!"

"The real business war isn't about giving away money, it's about slaughtering pigs."

Jiang Lin turned around, held up three fingers, and whispered like a devil:

"To destroy the Liao, I only need three steps. Without firing a single shot, I'll make the Liao people tear down the Great Wall themselves!"

Step 1: Poisoned Candy

Jiang Lin drew an exquisite glass bottle and a gorgeous piece of silk on the blackboard.

"We will not send tribute; instead, we will conduct border trade. We will dump the finest luxury goods of the Song Dynasty—glass, Shu brocade, strong liquor, and perfume—onto the Liao nobles."

"Once people have experienced luxury, they can't go back to their rougher ways. When the fierce generals of the Liao Dynasty got used to drinking the wine of Fanlou and wearing the silk of Suzhou and Hangzhou, could they still ride wild horses and draw strong bows?"

"This is called—eroding its bones."

Step Two: Sheep Eat People

Jiang Lin pressed the chalk heavily and drew a sheep on the blackboard.

"This is the true divine weapon to destroy the Liao Dynasty."

"As long as our Great Song Dynasty announces: prices will double! Or even triple! Unlimited purchases of Liao Dynasty wool!"

His gaze swept across the entire room, his voice possessing a captivating, alluring power:

"Imagine you, gentlemen, if you were a citizen of the Liao Kingdom, and you could earn one tael of silver a year by farming, or ten taels by raising sheep, which would you choose?"

Someone instinctively answered, "Of course, raise sheep!"

Jiang Lin snapped his fingers: "Exactly! For huge profits, Liao nobles will seize farmland and turn it into pasture; Liao commoners will throw away their hoes and knives for huge profits, and the whole family will go herding sheep!"

He suddenly drew flocks of sheep covering the hillsides on the blackboard:

"Three years! Just three years! All of Liao's fertile fields will be abandoned, and Liao's iron cavalry will all become shepherds!"

"This is—abandon their agriculture and cut off their food supply!"

Everyone in the room felt a chill run down their spines. This wasn't a strategy; it was a plan to wipe out their entire family line!

Step 3: Closing the Net

Jiang Lin's voice suddenly rose, like the thunder of judgment:

"When the Liao Kingdom's mountains are full of sheep, and there isn't a single grain of rice left in its granaries—"

He slammed the chalk down on the blackboard, drawing a huge X!

"The Song Dynasty suddenly closed its border markets, prohibited the export of even a single grain of rice, and ceased purchasing wool!"

boom!

It was as if a thunderclap had exploded in everyone's minds.

Jiang Lin pressed closer to Liu Chang, his imposing manner growing with each word he spoke:

"Back then, the Liao Dynasty had mountains of wool, yet it couldn't buy even a single steamed bun!"

"Back then, their warhorses were so hungry they ate tree bark, and their soldiers were so hungry they couldn't even lift their swords!"

"At that time, we won't even need to fight; the starving Liao people will storm the palace and eat their emperor!"

Jiang Lin stood in the center of the arena, arms outstretched, as if he held the lifeline of the world in his grasp:

"This is economic warfare!"

"With my abacus, I can crush the backbone of the Liao Kingdom!"

"I can strangle the fate of the Liao Kingdom with wool!"

"Master Liu, that's true wisdom! What's yours called? A deliveryman!"

A deathly silence.

This revolutionary, timeless attack instilled a deep-seated fear in all the bookish intellectuals present.

too frightening.

This person is terrifying.

He wasn't holding chalk; he was holding a butcher's knife that could slaughter millions, and it wasn't even stained with blood!

Wang Anshi trembled with excitement, his nails digging into his flesh: "This...this is true practical application of knowledge! This is the true art of enriching the nation and strengthening its military! Compared to this, our reforms are nothing but patchwork!"

Liu Chang stared at the seemingly harmless sheep on the blackboard and completely broke down.

His worldview was shattered.

He pointed at Jiang Lin, his teeth chattering: "You...you're a devil...you're a devil..."

Jiang Lin looked down at him coldly:

"To be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to oneself. Chief Minister Liu, you are too old. You can no longer steer the ship of the Song Dynasty. Get off the ship."

"puff--!"

Overwhelmed with anger and grief, Liu Chang spat out a mouthful of blood three feet high and fell straight backward.

The Imperial Academy was in complete chaos.

Ouyang Xiu stood up and announced loudly:

"The third round, policy discussion! Liu Jijiu's arguments are outdated, while Jiang Lin's strategy is unprecedented! The third round—Jingshi Academy wins!"

"Three battles, three victories! Jing Shi Academy—a complete victory over the Imperial Academy!"

The cheers were deafening.

Jiang Lin stood with his hands behind his back, letting the cheers surge like a tide. But his gaze was fixed on the distance—the heavens of the Great Song Dynasty needed a change.

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Study of the Palace.

Emperor Renzong was reviewing memorials when a eunuch rushed in, his face flushed with excitement: "Your Majesty! News has come from Fanlou! The Imperial Academy suffered a crushing defeat! Chancellor Liu vomited blood and fainted on the spot!"

Emperor Renzong frowned: "Oh? What did Jiang Lin say?"

The eunuch took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice:

He said...without a single soldier, within ten years, he could make the Liao emperor kneel at the gates of Bianjing begging for food!

Emperor Renzong suddenly stood up, and the vermilion brush in his hand fell to the ground.

"What did you say?!"

After hearing Jiang Lin's "economic sanctions" plan, Emperor Renzong trembled all over and paced back and forth in the imperial study, his pace quickening.

"Wonderful...wonderful...wonderful!"

He suddenly turned around and burst into laughter, looking up at the sky:

"Hahaha! Heaven bless the Song Dynasty! Heaven bless the Song Dynasty!"

He strode to the imperial desk and wrote down an imperial edict:

"Issue my decree—"

"Mr. Jiang Lin, the Master of Statecraft, is to have an audience with the Emperor at noon tomorrow!"

"I want to hear him tell me himself—how he will buy the Liao Kingdom!!"