As the sky was about to darken, Lin Meng arrived in a hurry.

  Yesterday, among the dead was a partner from Linji Warehouse who was lent to Jiyun Society. He was an old man brought out by Lin Mengde from Shanglinli and was extremely loyal to the Lin family. Although Jiyun Society was founded by Lin Xian's self-established door, he came to help Lin Mengde and worked very hard. Last night, when the bandits attacked the camp, he tried to light a fire to stop the chaos from spreading, but was stabbed more than ten times. When his body was collected in the morning, there was almost no blood left on him. Lin Mengde bought a coffin from the city and wanted to bury this loyal partner in Shanglinli.

  Su Lin Mengde came together with more than a dozen Dongyang Township Party members and ten large trucks of scarce materials.

  Looking at the camp, wooden stakes and bamboo signs with thorns were already set up around it. As dusk fell, fires were lit all around the camp, with someone in charge of keeping watch. On the left side of the camp, a team of swordsmen from the Jiangning Prefecture's Military Command was stationed to prevent another tragedy like last night's - this was also a special favor given by Zhang Yu-bo, the Left Guard General, using his privilege to take care of the Ji Yun Society. Although the refugees inside the camp had not yet dispersed the fear and sadness brought by yesterday's tragic event, they did not show much panic either. In fact, dozens of people were organized to hold homemade spears and stand guard inside the camp. The seriously injured were all transferred to the city for treatment in horse-drawn carriages in the afternoon. Lin Meng-de knew that after last night's tragedy, Lin Xuan still had enough ability to control the situation.

  The only shocking sight was that in the northwest corner of the camp, a temporary shed used as a mortuary had dozens of bodies from last night's massacre. Due to the lack of coffins available for purchase from Quyang Town at the time, more than ten people were covered with white cloth and placed on door panels in the shed. Outside the mortuary, there was yellow paper burning for the deceased. In the deepening dusk, those piles of burning yellow paper looked especially bleak.

  Lin Mengde let out a long sigh and asked Lin Fu: "Has Lord Guo not arrived yet?"

  "Lord Gu went to the Jiangning Prefecture in the afternoon with his men to take over jurisdiction, but was blocked and returned," Lin Fu said. "The Jiangning Prefecture only agreed to have someone from the Inspector's Office supervise, but disagreed with the case being taken over by the Inspector's Office..."

  “Alas……” Lin Mengde let out another soft sigh. Since Zhang Yubo was at the Jiangning Prefecture's Military Affairs Section, it wasn't necessary for Gu Wudang to send someone to supervise. Although Zhang Yubo would do his best to help, the Jiangning Prefecture's Military Affairs Section was still mainly controlled by local powers. Everyone suspected that this case was someone from the local area targeting Gu Wudang, so aside from Zhang Yubo, the other officials were just going through the motions and didn't put their hearts into investigating the case.

  Lin Xie had only gained complete control over the Jiang Island Great Prison after Gu Wudang's prison reform. Zhang Yubo didn't have such good luck. Aside from the two left and right section heads Kou who were imperial appointees, the other officials at the Jiangning Prefecture's Military Affairs Section were all locally selected, as well as the lower-ranking squad leaders, soldiers, archers, and infantrymen who were all local gentry or military households. Above them was also the powerful Jiangning Prefectural Magistrate Wang Xueshan, so Zhang Yubo had only a nominal position as an official and his control over the Military Affairs Section was actually very weak.

  Furthermore, the attackers from last night were extremely ruthless and cunning, with tactics that were both poisonous and lethal. The people at the Military Affairs Section might be afraid to show their faces, but since the Investigating Censorate couldn't take the case away from the Jiangning Prefecture, they didn't have a legitimate reason to intervene openly. Lin Mengde sighed and said, "Following precedent, this case will probably drag on and then be dismissed. After all, the ones who died were just unimportant refugees — have you heard that Chen Zhihu led his troops through Wuxian County and, annoyed by the refugees blocking the road, took his cavalry and killed a bunch of them as if they were bandits?"

  It's no wonder that Lin Meng has a mind to let things take their course and stabilize the situation.

  Lin Mengde didn't arrive until nightfall, but after learning the news in the morning, he had been doing his best to help purchase scarce medical supplies in the city and clear out rooms at the Dongyang Guild Hall to accommodate injured people who were transferred into the city. He also invited doctors to provide treatment and care, and organized local parties to donate money and goods. At this time, it was also a test of the cohesion of the local party. In just over half a day, donations exceeded one million yuan, and more than ten people followed Lin Mengde to escort the donated and urgently purchased supplies out of the city to visit the injured.

  The Qu family couldn't keep the disappearance of Qu Wuyang's son a secret for long. After several days, they couldn't find anyone and no one came to extort money from them. As Qu Wuyang's son was a well-known young master in Jiangning, his absence for several days naturally raised suspicions. The Qu family then formally reported the case to the authorities of Moling County and Jiangning Prefecture.

  The Qu family, of course, did not dare to say that Qu Wenbin, the only son of Qu Wuyang, had gone missing on the night of the Yangshulin massacre and had fabricated other locations. The officials sent by Xuanling County and Jiangning Prefecture naturally could not find any clues. Due to the Qu family's enormous wealth and power in Jiangning, the case of Qu Wenbin's disappearance immediately became another major case that shocked Jiangning after the Liuhe River migrant massacre.

  *********

  As the Procuratorate had no jurisdiction, the Jiangning Garrison was very perfunctory in handling the case, and naturally couldn't find any clues. After several days of peace and quiet, Zhang Yubo also withdrew his men under pressure.

  Lin Bing didn't care, he couldn't ask too much of Zhang Yubo. In the past few days, Chen Yuanliang, the county magistrate of Miling, and Zhao Shuhan, the head of the Jiangning Penal Department, came to visit him, but they were also powerless in this case.

  Something like this happened, Lin Xie was even more unable to escape to other places. He returned to the prison island during the day to handle official duties, and before nightfall, he brought his guards, Wu Du, to live on the shore. He also took advantage of this incident to increase his guards to twelve people. Although the prison island had no jurisdiction over the river mouth, Lin Xie brought his guards to the shore every day to spend the night, and sometimes when Lin Xie was busy on the prison island, he would first send Zhou Pu to lead the guards to the shore to be on guard. Others could not say much about it.

  It's likely that the landowners on both sides of the riverbank, as well as the Qu family, wanted to distance themselves from the brutal murder case involving the refugees. They didn't want Lin Xian and the Provincial Inspectorate to shift their suspicions onto them. After Lin Jingzhong went to the Qu family's rental office to inquire about the ownership of the riverbank land, the previously hidden landowner came forward voluntarily the next day, agreeing to sell over 200 mu of land on the inner side of the riverbank to Ji Yun She at a price of 7,000 yuan per mu.

  For good fields that can yield five or six dan of grain per year, even in Jiangnan where grains are cheap, a selling price of 7,000 coins per mu is really not considered high.

  The composer wanted to wash away suspicion, and without any difficulty, the rent right problem with Jiyun Society was resolved. Not a single copper coin was demanded as compensation, and the previous rental contract was terminated. These more than 200 mu of land were originally rented by twelve tenant farmers, Jiyun Society compensated the tenants for the unharvested crops and hired these former tenants to work for Jiyun Society. The long-standing land right issue that had been difficult to resolve was suddenly resolved after the tragic event, which can also be said to have brought good fortune out of disaster.

  ********

  On the eighth day of February, Ye Kai's Zhengyedang finished engraving two sets of "Tilou Prison Book" and printed four sample books, which were sent to Hekou. On that day, Zhao Shuhan, the head of Jiangning Penal Department, came to visit Lin Xie with a friend. He picked up the thick sample book, which still had a strong ink fragrance, and was suddenly filled with emotions, using his sleeve to wipe away tears that he could not help but shed.

  In the Spring and Autumn period, Shu Sun Bao of Lu said: "The greatest achievement is to establish virtue, next is to establish achievements, and next is to establish words. Even after a long time, it will not be abolished, this is called immortality." For thousands of years, "establishing virtue, establishing achievements, and establishing words" have been regarded by scholars as the core moral pursuit for life. Establishing virtue is the business of saints, establishing achievements means to save the world and rescue people in danger, while establishing words refers to writing books and leaving a legacy to future generations. Due to the high standards of establishing virtue and achievements, more scholars take establishing words as their lifelong goal.

  Zhao Shuhan was proud of his talent and deeply yearned to write a book that would be passed down through the ages. Now that his wish had been fulfilled, how could he remain calm? After learning that Lin Xie's Zhengyedang had spent over 200 taels of silver to publish "The Book of Ti Li", Zhao Shuhan was so excited that he stroked the leather cover repeatedly. He looked at Lin Xie and didn't know what to say for a moment, then placed the book on the table, took a step back, and bowed deeply: "Shuhan has no way to thank you, please accept this bow from me..."

  "Brother Zhao has wronged me, the prison book bears my name, it's already a deception of the world. I dare not accept Brother Zhao's great gift again." Lin Fu hastily stepped forward to hold back Zhao Shuhan, not accepting his deep bow as a gesture of respect.

  Along with Zhao Shuhan, they came to the river mouth to visit Lin Fu's Jiangning Gongbu. Shi Ge, the clerk of the hall book, was holding another copy of the book and smiled, saying: "Good Zhao Shuhan, writing such a big thing and not telling me, do you really take me as a friend? You should be punished for paying for today's wine. Lin, don't be modest, I've heard you and Brother Zhao talk about governing prisons for many days, you really have great talent in governing prisons, I'll make an impartial judgment, you're absolutely not deceiving the world... Mr. Gu raised and used you to govern Prison Island, it was indeed a wise move to recognize jade..."

  Lin tied Ha Ha smiled, holding Zhao Shuhan's arm and sat down together, saying: "After the woodblock is made, printing will be quick. One hundred copies, only need ten days or eight days of work. I think this is good, Brother Zhao doesn't have to dislike the simplicity of this thatched cottage. After the book is printed, we'll choose a day and invite some colleagues and scholars over. First, to celebrate the publication of the manuscript, second, to discuss the academic topics in this book, Brother Zhao will also give us a lecture on the spot, which can be considered as opening a class..."

  "How can I be worthy?" Zhao Shuhan hastily declined, "Please don't embarrass me, Brother Lin."

  When it comes to opening lectures, even the county school instructors are eighth-grade civil servants. The prefectural school officials and the educational officials of the Proclamation and Pacification Commissioner's Office are all local celebrities. The National Academy's libationer, professors, and other positions are all undertaken by famous people of the time. Not counting the countless private schools, there are many civilian academies in this dynasty, but those who have the qualifications to be invited to open lectures are also famous scholars. Famous ones include Xixi Academy under Caishan Mountain in Yiling County, where the first person to open lectures is Chen Xiyin, a great Confucian scholar of the time and former Minister of Revenue. Last year's Jiangdong Provincial Examination Top Scorer Chen Mingyu was also a disciple of Chen Xiyin.

  This place is less than thirty miles away from Xixi Academy at the foot of Shushan Mountain, and Zhao Shuhan really dare not open a lecture here.

  Lin looked at Ge Siyu, who was sitting beside Zhao Shuhan, and asked: "Brother Ge, what do you think?"

  "It must be," said Jiang Ning, the Minister of Works, excitedly, "We won't invite those moral gentlemen from Xixi Academy either. Since miscellaneous studies and techniques are not orthodox, then we'll invite those unorthodox colleagues and students to listen to Brother Zhao's lectures..."

  "How many more people will come?" Zhao Shuhan said.

  "If others don't come, just you and Lord Lin sitting below in the hall listening to your lecture, is that enough?" Ge Siyu said.

  "You want me to treat you to a drink, just say so...” Zhao Shuhan was entangled by Lin Xie and Ge Siyu to the point of having no way out, and had to grit his teeth and agree.

  "This is great," Ge Cu Yu said with emotion, carefully taking a sample book to his front and flipping through it in the evening sunlight coming from the window, "For this matter, today is worth getting drunk." He also asked Lin Fu, "How much silver do I need to pay to take this book home?"

  "You come to listen to Brother Zhao's lectures, and this book will be given away for free by Jiyun Society - we set a date, whoever comes here to listen to Brother Zhao's lectures for three days, the books will all be given away for free by Jiyun Society!" Lin Fu said, "Of course, we had Zhengyedang print 100 copies, limited to 100 copies."

  "How does this work?" Zhao Shuhan said.

  "How can it be allowed?" Lin Xian retorted back at Zhao Shuhan, and then asked Ge Siyu, "What do you think, Brother Ge?"

  "I'll just take advantage of the cheap price and put this book away first," Ge Ziyu said with a smile. "A book as thick as this, with such good printing, can't be printed for less than 3,000 to 5,000 coins. I really can't afford that much silver, so I'll just have to make do with difficulty and come listen to Brother Zhao's lectures another day."

  Keswick took out a handkerchief from his bosom and carefully wrapped the book, he had a short beard at the age of forty, he was a stout man with a generous temperament, it was cold in spring, and he wore thin clothes.

  Ge Ziyu's father was originally a master craftsman in the Jiangning Ministry of Works, but later, due to his merits, he was rewarded and removed from the register of craftsmen, allowing him to participate in the imperial examination. He barely passed the exam and became a xiucai, then entered the Jiangning Ministry of Works as a shulishi. Like Zhao Shuhan, they were both idle officials in the city of Jiangning, with Ge Ziyu being even more so than Zhao Shuhan.

  After Ji Yun She solved the land ownership issue of the river mouth and river embankment, they are preparing for a large-scale construction project in these days.

  Zhao Shuhan dragged Ge Siyu to the river mouth to visit Lin Fu, saying that he was bringing him to visit friends and drink wine, but in fact, he was pulling Ge Siyu over to help. Ge Siyu inherited his family's skills and had been working in the construction department for a long time, and he was very familiar with the construction of buildings and earthworks, making him a talent that Ji Yun Society needed when they were going to start a large-scale construction project.

  Zhao Shuhan has a very deep foundation in literature, history and art, and is welcomed by his colleagues; Ge Siyu, who was originally a mediocre scholar, is excluded by those colleagues even though he has a lot of knowledge about construction. After Zhao Shuhan was demoted to Jiangning, his interest shifted to miscellaneous arts and crafts, and it didn't take long for him to become good friends with Ge Siyu, which has continued until now.

  It is said that people gather in groups and objects are classified together. After the tragic incident at the river mouth, Zhao Shuhan brought Ge Siyu to meet Lin Xie, and it only took a few days for Ge Siyu to become close friends with Lin Xie. The Ji Yun Society was busy constructing buildings at the river mouth, and Ge Siyu also took on the role of supervisor and designer without hesitation. As a clerk in the Jiangning Ministry of Works, Ge Siyu's original job was an easy one, with nothing much to do all day. These past few days, he would accompany Zhao Shuhan to the government office every morning, and then head directly to the river mouth to help out. He didn't ask for anything else, as long as Lin Xie treated him and his friends who came together to a good meal.

  No need to mention others, Ji Yun She is busy with construction work and wants to dig a deep waterway on the riverbank before the spring flood comes and the river water rises, so that large ships can dock directly on the riverbank. They secretly invited several master craftsmen from Jiangning Prefecture's Gong Cao and Jiangning Gong Department to do the job. These master craftsmen were either apprentices brought out by Ge Siyu's father or under Ge Siyu's jurisdiction. Lin Fu was naturally overjoyed at Ge Siyu's enthusiasm, and he had Lin Jingzhong specially prepare carriages to pick up Zhao Shuhan and Ge Siyu in recent days.

  Zhao Shuhan has now become very cautious, although the manuscript was entrusted to Zhengyedang for engraving and printing before the New Year's festival, he didn't mention it until the book was printed, fearing that something unpredictable would happen in the end, making it all for nothing. It wasn't until then that Ge Xuyu knew that his friend's book was about to be published.

  Ge Si Yu carefully wrapped up the "Tiluo Prison Book" and couldn't help but bring it to his nose to smell the rich ink fragrance, feeling happy for his good friend and also a little envious in his heart.

  Lin Xian looked at Ge Ci and smiled: "Brother Ge's family has passed down the art of construction, do you have any plans to write a book and pass it on to future generations?"

  "Can you also write books with your miscellaneous skills?" Ge Siyu's eyes lit up.

  "How could it be? In the previous dynasty, General Li Cunxu wrote 'The Art of War', didn't you ever read it, Brother Ge?" Lin Xuan asked with a smile.

  "......" Ge Si Yu Hao said with a smile, "In the Jianghu, Li Cun Han is like an ancestor, how can I compare myself to him?"

  The construction of the Jiangning City, in short, is the study of architecture. Lin Xie, because of the need to construct buildings for the Ji Yun She, not only hired master craftsmen from Jiangning City but also searched for ancient texts on this subject. Who would have thought that for thousands of years, there was only one book, "The Construction Canon" by Li Zonghan, which had been passed down for 400 years?

  ******

  P.S: Seeking red envelope!