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

The day after the Battle of Fanlou, Bianjing City was in complete chaos.

If the Song Dynasty had Weibo, today's trending topics would definitely be: #ZengGongPubliclyAppearsDivine, #SuShiPoemsOnTheMoonAndReflectionsOnAncientTimesBringsTheImperialAcademyToTears, #JiangLinBuysTheLiaoKingdom, #HowToEnrollInJingShiAcademy

In the teahouse, the storyteller slammed his gavel and began recounting yesterday's competition as if it were the classic tale of "Investiture of the Gods":

"Esteemed guests! Let's begin with Zeng Zigu! He simply stepped onto the stage and shouted, 'The Way resides in the hearts of men!' In an instant, a purple aura swept eastward for thirty thousand miles from the top of Fanlou!"

"What's even more incredible? That portrait of Confucius, which had been hanging there for decades, actually came to life! It bowed deeply to Mr. Zeng! This bow terrified the twelve scholars of the Imperial Academy, shattering their kneecaps on the spot—it was divine punishment sent down by the sage!"

This word spread quickly, and Zeng Gong became known as the living "examination god" of Bianjing.

The portraits of Zeng Gong in the painting shops were sold out, and people flocked to paste them on the shop fronts.

"Post a picture of Mr. Zeng to ward off evil spirits! It's especially good for curing children who don't study and fail exams!"

Brothels and pleasure houses present a completely different picture.

After last night, paper became scarce in Bianjing. Major bookstores printed "Nian Nu Jiao" overnight, but it was still in short supply.

Li Shishi, the top courtesan of Fanlou, actually threw away the soft-stringed guqin she usually played and replaced it with a powerful-sounding iron pipa.

She declared publicly: "From now on, anyone who can't sing with the heroic spirit of 'The Great River Flows East' shouldn't even step into my house! I despise those spineless wimps who can only whine and whine!"

Inside the restaurant, the scholars toasted each other, but no one dared to compose a poem anymore.

"Brother Wang, the moonlight is beautiful tonight. Shall we compose a poem?"

"Pah! You've ruined me?"

Brother Wang slammed down his wine cup, his face full of shame: "Su Shi's spirit is as fierce as a tiger swallowing ten thousand miles. Compared to him, our old 'lamentations on spring and autumn' are simply effeminate! We're not writing anymore, it's embarrassing! Let's drink!"

Su Shi's battle became an insurmountable mountain in the hearts of all literati.

For those powerful figures and merchants who cared about the court, Jiang Lin was the most terrifying presence.

Overnight, all the strategists and advisors in Bianjing City were imitating Jiang Lin by drawing circles on the wall and muttering "economic war" and "sheep eat people".

"That's too ruthless... Without using a single soldier, they crushed the backbone of the Liao Kingdom with an abacus."

"This is the art of emperors! Compared to the longevity of the empire, those girls at the Imperial Academy who only know how to send tribute are simply spendthrift women!"

In just twelve hours, Jingshi Academy gathered the three great mountains of theology, literature, and economics, directly transforming from a "fake private school" into the "only holy place" in Bianjing City.

Human joys and sorrows are not shared, and the Imperial Academy only finds it noisy.

The once arrogant students of the Imperial Academy, clad in their red robes, looked as wilted as frostbitten eggplants today. Walking down the street, they dared not wear their red robes and even covered their faces.

"Hey, isn't that Senior Brother Wang from the Imperial Academy?"

"Nonsense! I...I'm Wu Da, a pancake seller! I don't know anything about the Imperial Academy!"

The study of Liu Chang, the chief priest.

He was disheveled, huddled in his chair, on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Now, when Liu Chang closes his eyes, he sees a portrait of Confucius bowing to Zeng Gong. He is terrified of divine retribution and can only clutch his amulet tightly in his hand.

Whenever he hears someone singing "The Great River Flows Eastward, Waves Wash Away the Sand" outside his window, he feels that all the poems he writes are rubbish, and he wishes he could chop off his hand.

Especially now, looking at the "Destroy a Country" strategy left by Jiang Lin, he felt more and more frightened—he had provoked such a person, and he was afraid he wouldn't even know how he died.

What drove him to despair was that he heard many students from the Imperial Academy were secretly writing their withdrawal applications this morning...

The atmosphere in the imperial court was strange.

As soon as the morning court session began, several stubborn censors couldn't contain themselves and tried to make an issue of Fanlou.

"Your Majesty, Jiang Lin is an arrogant and reckless man. He made outrageous remarks at Fanlou, even going so far as to say that 'commercial warfare will destroy a nation.' This is a heretical and unorthodox approach that may mislead scholars..."

Emperor Renzong sat on the dragon throne, toying with a broken nine-dragon jade pendant in his hand, a cold smile on his lips.

"Unorthodox methods?"

Emperor Renzong spoke softly, his voice not loud, yet it instantly silenced the hall.

"I believe that is a good way to govern the world."

He abruptly stood up, pulled a copy of "Strategies for Destroying Liao through Commercial Warfare" from his sleeve, and threw it directly at the censor's face:

"Open your dog eyes and look! Every single word here is a lifeline for the Song Dynasty!"

"All you ever do is chant 'the laws of our ancestors,' and demand that I send you tribute and women! Has anyone ever, like Jiang Lin, told me how to make the Liao people kneel down?!"

The audience was completely silent, and the officials trembled with fear.

Emperor Renzong's gaze was sharp as he swept over Liu Chang's cronies: "I ask you, how much silver from the national treasury does the Imperial Academy spend in a year?"

"Your Majesty...approximately 100,000 strings of cash."

"How much did the Jing Shi Academy cost me?"

"...not a single penny was taken."

Emperor Renzong slammed his hand on the armrest of his dragon throne, his roar echoing throughout the hall:

"I spent ten thousand strings of cash to raise a bunch of useless idioms who can only memorize by rote; while others, without taking a single penny, brought me a plan to wipe out the Liao dynasty! Tell me, who is the heretic and who is the legitimate one?!"

The imperial censor was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground.

"deliver an imperial order!"

Emperor Renzong waved his sleeve, setting the tone with domineering power:

"The plaque inscribed 'Model Teacher for All Under Heaven' is bestowed upon Jing Shi Academy! All students of Jing Shi Academy who participate in the imperial examinations will be treated the same as students of the Imperial Academy!"

This imperial decree completely rectified the Jingshi Academy and thoroughly humiliated the Imperial Academy.

Deep within the palace, in a side hall of the Funing Hall.

When the imperial decree was issued, the princess, who was doing her makeup, trembled and almost poked her eye with the eyebrow pencil.

"Is Father... serious this time?"

The girl in the mirror had beautiful features, yet possessed a touch of boyish charm.

These past two days, her mind has been filled with images from that day at Fanlou.

Zeng Gong, who made even sages bow down; Su Shi, who sang wildly while drunk; and Jiang Lin, who, with a wicked grin, rebuked a great Confucian scholar until he vomited blood.

"This is so boring."

The princess threw down her eyebrow pencil and looked at the needlework and embroidery all over the room, feeling utterly bored.

"Studying 'Rules for Women' and 'Precepts for Women' in this palace every day is driving me crazy. I want to enroll at the Jing Shi Academy too!"

The maid Xiaoshuang turned pale with fright: "Your Highness! Are you crazy? That's a boys' academy! And Principal Jiang is notoriously strict..."

"severe?"

The princess rolled her eyes and pulled out a set of moon-white men's clothing that she had prepared long ago from the depths of the wardrobe, skillfully tying up her long hair.

She swung open the folding fan, raised an eyebrow at herself in the mirror, revealing her adorable little tiger tooth:

"I've been well-versed in literature since childhood, and I can recite the Four Books and Five Classics from memory. Why would I be afraid of failing an entrance exam? I'll go teach that Jiang Lin a lesson right now!"