In the Ming Dynasty, I became invincible simply by extracting memories!

Night had fallen, and the torches in the prison corridor crackled and popped, occasionally a spark would fall into the water stains on the ground with a soft hiss.

Shen Lian leaned against the wall, his eyes closed, but his mind never stopped.

The information extracted from the prison guard Sun's memories was like a tangled mess, coiling around his nerves and causing his temples to throb with pain. The headache lasted from dusk till midnight, half an hour of intense pain followed by a dull, lingering ache, as if someone were grinding a blunt knife against his temples. But he couldn't stop—those memories were fading at a visible speed, like traces left on the beach after the tide has receded, easily scattered by the wind.

He had to repeatedly "replay" and solidify the information.

The most valuable fragments of Sun the jailer's memory were those about cell number D. Shen Lian pieced these fragments together, like disassembling a precision instrument.

Shen Lian didn't sleep all night.

He gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to think about the pain, and focused all his attention on "replaying" the contents of the case files and the conversations he had overheard in the prison guard Sun's memory.

In the darkness, the numbers became clearer and clearer.

The file that the jailer Sun secretly peeked at recorded: "In the 36th year of the Jiajing reign, 120,000 taels of silver. In the 37th year of the Jiajing reign, 180,000 taels of silver. In the 38th year of the Jiajing reign, 230,000 taels of silver. In the 39th year of the Jiajing reign, 310,000 taels of silver."

It increased year by year. Yan Shifan's appetite grew bigger and bigger each year.

Shen Lian closed his eyes, replaying Sun the jailer's memories frame by frame, like flipping through microfilm in a library in his past life. The old jailer was in the duty room, turning page after page of the case files transferred from Nanjing. The firelight illuminated his face, making his nasolabial folds appear deeper than usual. The case files contained not only numbers, but also a dense network of vested interests—

The Ministry of Works in Nanjing was responsible for falsely reporting project costs, the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing was responsible for falsifying accounts and balancing accounts, the Wang family business in Huizhou was responsible for shipping goods, the He family salt merchants in Yangzhou were responsible for money laundering, and the Wu family silk merchants in Hangzhou were responsible for bribing officials in Zhejiang.

Five lines, each with its own function, are linked together, extending from various corners of the southeast region, and finally converging into a giant hand: the private treasury behind the Yan family's ancestral home in Fenyi, Jiangxi.

The key figure in the case file was an accountant surnamed Qian. As the jailer Sun flipped through the documents, he silently murmured the name "Qian Dehou" several times. The case file stated that this man handled all of Yan Shifan's transactions in the southeast, and was the "central hub" of this network—he had control over where every penny came from, where it went, who handled it, and how much profit was left.

Every year, more than 500,000 taels of silver flowed out of here.

Shen Lian mentally checked the numbers three times. 537,000 taels—this was the figure from the thirty-ninth year of the Jiajing reign. The previous two years had yielded slightly less, but in total, Yan Shifan had amassed over two million taels of silver from the southeastern region alone.

Shen Lian's fingers unconsciously traced lines on the straw, memorizing these lines and key figures.

But that's not the worst part.

Then, he dug down to the deepest line.

In the memory of the jailer Sun, there was a conversation he had been listening to.

It was three nights ago. When the jailer Sun was patrolling and passed by cell number T, he heard Qian Dehou talking to himself inside. It was more like he was struggling and talking nonsense in a nightmare—the accountant had been beaten and was delirious. He often talked in his sleep at night, his voice low and intermittent.

"August of the thirty-ninth year of the Jiajing reign... 80,000 taels of silver..."

"The uses of the East...cannot be clearly explained...it remains unsaid..."

"Outbound from Ningbo Port, inbound from Kyushu Island... in exchange for sulfur, copper, lead..."

The jailer, Sun, stood at the door and listened for a while, silently memorizing what was said.

Yan Shifan colluded with Japanese pirates.

This is not just corruption. This is aiding the enemy, colluding with the Japanese, a capital offense punishable by death and the extermination of one's entire family.

Shen Lian's fingers stopped on the straw, his heart clenching suddenly. Fang Xuejian was snoring beside him, completely unaware of everything.

Shen Lian closed his eyes and continued the "replay".

Sun, the jailer, had even more details in his memory. On the day Qian Dehou was interrogated, Sun stood guard outside the torture chamber. Through the iron gate, he heard the interrogator repeatedly asking about the meaning of the phrase "for the use of the East," and pressing for details about the whereabouts of the 80,000 taels of silver.

Qian Dehou didn't confess a single word.

But Jailer Sun noticed a detail—after the interrogation, the presiding judge whispered a few words to Zhao Yan in the duty room. Taking advantage of refilling tea, Jailer Sun leaned closer and overheard the presiding judge say, "That 'for the Eastern Ocean' account, the man surnamed Qian would rather die than divulge it. But I checked the records of the Ningbo Port Maritime Trade Office, and in August of the thirty-ninth year of the Jiajing reign (1550), a batch of goods did indeed leave the port under the guise of 'medicinal herbs,' with the destination listed as Ryukyu. The actual ship owner was Lin Yiqing, a Fujian merchant. Lin Yiqing's line has close ties with the Yan family."

Zhao Yan remained silent for a long time before saying, "Ryukyu is just a cover. That batch of goods probably went to Japan."

In the jailer Sun's memory, the conversation ended there. But later, while reviewing the case file, he found a slip of paper tucked inside, bearing the presiding judge's handwriting and a few lines of small writing—

"In August of the thirty-ninth year of the Jiajing reign (1550), a shipment departed from Ningbo Port, reported to Ryukyu, possibly destined for Kyushu. The manifest contained a quantity each of sulfur, copper, and lead."

At the end of the note, the presiding judge wrote: "This matter is of great importance and will not be included in the main case file for now. It will be reported again after verification."

But the piece of paper was never submitted. The jailer, Sun, didn't know if Zhao Yan had suppressed it, or if the presiding judge himself was afraid to report it. He only knew that the piece of paper remained tucked deep within the case file, and no one ever mentioned it again.

But the jailer Sun memorized it.

As Shen Lian pieced the fragments together, his heart grew heavier and heavier.

Having read the history of the Ming Dynasty in his previous life, he knew that Yan Shifan was greedy and that his faction sold official positions and embezzled military funds. Historical records occasionally mentioned that Yan Shifan condoned his subordinates' collusion with Japanese pirates for smuggling and tacitly allowed local officials to secretly communicate with the Japanese. He thought that the charge of colluding with the Japanese was merely a political tactic used by Xu Jie to bring him down, but little did he know that beneath this seemingly fabricated charge lay the absolute truth.

But the prison guard Sun's memories told him that Yan Shifan not only condoned and acquiesced, but actively did so. He used the wealth he had plundered from the people, and even speculated to the other extreme, he might have purchased strategic materials through Japanese pirates and then resold them to Ming Dynasty's own arms dealers, profiting from both ends.

The vast majority of the enormous sums of silver obtained through smuggling with the Japanese pirates flowed into Yan Shifan's private treasury. Given his greedy and extravagant nature, he naturally used this money to lavishly bribe coastal officials, preventing them from wholeheartedly suppressing the pirates and allowing them to turn a blind eye, thus enabling the pirates to grow stronger. It was clearly a case of nurturing bandits to enhance his own power! His ability to continuously amass wealth while maintaining the unwavering loyalty of his officials was the root cause of the persistent and widespread Japanese pirate raids along the southeastern coast!

During the Japanese pirate raids in southeastern China from the 31st to the 40th year of the Jiajing reign (1552-1553), over 100,000 civilians were massacred by pirates along the coast. Dozens of coastal counties, including Ningbo, Taizhou, Wenzhou, and Fuzhou, were burned, looted, and burned, leaving corpses strewn across the fields. Some entire villages were slaughtered, sparing neither the elderly nor children. The court's memorials were written with restraint, but the words were filled with bloodshed—"Men, women, the old, and children were all slaughtered," "Corpses piled up in the fields, turning the rivers red," "Even women and children were not spared; the tragedy was unspeakable."

Yan Shifan's money was squeezed from the very bones of these people.

He used the hard-earned money of the people in the southeast to buy sulfur and copper from the Japanese pirates, and then resold them to arms dealers, profiting from both ends. After obtaining the silver, the Japanese pirates went to Japan to recruit more ronin, build more warships, and launch even more ferocious raids on the southeast coast.

This is a cycle—

Yan Shifan plundered the people → used the money to buy strategic materials from the Japanese pirates → the Japanese pirates used the money to strengthen their power → more people were slaughtered → the imperial court was forced to increase the military pay for suppressing the Japanese pirates → Yan Shifan embezzled the military pay → and plundered even more ruthlessly.

Every single penny was stained with blood.

For every tael of silver, there are bones beneath it.

At this moment, in this damp and dark prison, as these numbers were extracted from the memories of the jailer Sun and turned into living evidence, he truly felt for the first time that human life was as worthless as grass.

As long as Yan's faction remains in power, the bloodshed in the southeast will never cease.

Shen Lian took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Anger won't solve anything. He needs to suppress his anger and transform it into calmer, more precise calculations.

If this debt were to be brought to light, it would be enough to ruin Yan Shifan forever.

But Shen Lian cannot abandon it now.

The information unearthed from the memories of the prison guard Sun was a nuclear-level bargaining chip, a life-saving trump card, and it had to be used at the most opportune moment. Revealing it now would arouse suspicion from Wei Liangbi—how could a scholar imprisoned in the imperial prison possibly know such top-secret information?

We have to "squeeze out the toothpaste".

First, release some verifiable information that won't arouse excessive suspicion, letting Wei Liangbi taste the benefits and making him think that Shen Lian still has something to offer, so he's reluctant to kill him. When the time is right, then play the trump card of colluding with the Japanese pirates.

In the darkness, Shen Lian reviewed the accounts again, dividing them into three levels—

The first layer: the total amount of silver Yan Shifan plundered from the southeast each year, and which merchants handled the transactions. This information came partly from his research in his previous life and partly from the memories of Zhou Kui and Wei Liangbi, and can be "reasonably" explained as being obtained through clandestine channels.

The second layer: the identity and location of the accountant, and the fact that he possessed a detailed account book. This part can be stated directly, because the jailer Sun already knew that cell number D held "criminals related to the Yan Song case," and Shen Lian's "deduction" that there was an accountant among them makes logical sense.

The third layer: colluding with Japanese pirates. Hold onto this card for now, and use it at a crucial moment; you'll need to come up with a concocted explanation for that.

Of course, there are also some fabrications, a mix of truth and falsehood, reality and illusion.

I can't afford to mess up my assignment on Ming Dynasty history now and fail.

Once this news gets out, not only Wei Liangbi, but even Zhu Xixiao would jump out of his chair.

As dawn broke, a hazy light shone through the vents.

Fang Xuejian turned over, opened his eyes groggily, and saw Shen Lian still leaning against the wall, his eyes as red as a rabbit's and his face as white as paper.

"You didn't sleep all night?" He sat up, his voice hoarse from just waking up.

"I can't sleep." Shen Lian's voice was very calm.

Fang Xuejian stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly leaned closer: "Are you having another headache? You've been acting strange ever since Old Sun left last night."

"He probably caught a cold," Shen Lian said dismissively.

"Come on," Fang Xuejian said in a low voice, "Did you use that ability again?"

Shen Lian opened his eyes and glared at him.

Fang Xuejian quickly raised his hand: "I won't ask. You said you wouldn't ask."

He pulled out the water bottle he hadn't finished last night from the corner and handed it to her, saying, "Drink some water. If your health collapses, we'll really have to go to the execution ground together."

Shen Lian took the kettle and took a sip. The water was still cold, but better than last night; it didn't have such a strong rusty taste.

Fang Xuejian squatted down next to him and lowered his voice: "Last night, Old Sun said that the Ding family had quite a background. Did you figure something out later?"

He continued mysteriously, "I'm thinking about something."

"What is it?"

"You said before that before Yan Song fell from power, Xu Jie had planted a network within the Embroidered Uniform Guard. That commander Zhao Yan was one of Xu Jie's men." Fang Xuejian's voice was very low. "If Zhao Yan really was Xu Jie's man, wouldn't he also know about the Ding-class prison case? Wouldn't he be plotting to steal Yan Shifan's account books?"

That makes some sense.

Shen Lian came to his senses—the images he had extracted from the memories of the prison guard Sun last night were themselves very telling.

One jailer,

Literacy.

The jailer, Sun, was literate.

An old soldier guarding prisoners in the imperial prison.

They can read and understand case files.

That's not right.

He could see top-secret case files transferred from Nanjing, and he could also eavesdrop on prisoners' sleep talking late at night and silently memorize them.

Ordinary prison guards don't have the authority to look at case files, much less the reason to look at them so closely. Unless—

Various factions had planted numerous spies within the imperial prison. These spies weren't necessarily high-ranking officials, but more often low-level soldiers—prison guards, captains, gatekeepers—these inconspicuous people went unnoticed, yet they were the most likely to gain access to core intelligence.

That old man Sun, who walked with a limp and brought them water and food, that "most humane old soldier in the imperial prison"—was very likely also a spy planted by a certain faction in the core area of ​​the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As for who is behind him, it's still unclear. But Shen Lian is certain that the jailer Sun may have other motives for secretly gathering evidence against Yan's faction.

The waters of this imperial prison run deeper than he had imagined.

Shen Lian went through this deduction in his mind three times. Each time, he felt that the logic was consistent, but he also felt that something was missing.

But he wouldn't tell Fang Xuejian.

At least not now.

This very deduction provided them with a life-saving source of intelligence.

"That makes sense," Shen Lian said, as if he were just giving a perfunctory answer.

"Then we have to get ahead of them." Fang Xuejian's eyes lit up, not noticing Shen Lian's momentary lapse in concentration. "If we get our hands on that ledger, not only Wei Liangbi, but even Zhu Xixiao will have to treat you like royalty."

Shen Lian glanced at him: "How can we rob it? We're locked up in jail, we can't even get out the door."

Fang Xuejian realized he was getting bored and obediently shut his mouth.

Shen Lian glanced at him. This guy seemed unreliable, but his intuition was pretty accurate.

"You've got some ideas, it's a shame you're not doing historical research." He raised his voice in a muffled voice, quickly changing the subject, "Shut up, let's talk when Wei Liangbi arrives."

"So, we'll have to outwit that old fox again?" Fang Xuejian rubbed his hands together, then asked irrationally, "Are you confident this time?"

Shen Lian closed his eyes to rest.

What Fang Xuejian said is also very likely. There are now many factions within the Embroidered Uniform Guard, including those who oppose Yan Ying and those who support him, as well as those who remain neutral.

Fang Xuejian wisely refrained from pressing the matter further, retreated to a corner, and began drawing his crucible design on the ground. After a few strokes, he stopped, took out a sharpened stone from under the straw, and began carving on the wall.

As Shen Lian listened to the sound of stones scraping against the wall, he continued to refine his story for the day.

He had to demonstrate sufficient "value" to Wei Liangbi, but he couldn't appear too eager. Being too eager would reveal his hand, while being too bland might cause the other party to lose interest.

A sense of proportion is key to this game.

Just after Chen Shi (7-9 AM), footsteps came from the end of the corridor.

It wasn't the food delivery, but the sound of boots clicking on the stone slabs, heavy and rhythmic—at least three people.

Fang Xuejian immediately hid the stone under the straw, shrank into a corner, and pretended to be an honest and simple person.

Shen Lian opened his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and slowed his heartbeat.

The iron gate opened, and torchlight flooded in. Zhou Kui entered first, followed by two captains. Zhou Kui glanced at Shen Lian, his eyes filled with complex emotions—spotting, wary, and something else entirely.

"Shen Lian, Lord Wei is here to interrogate you." His tone was more polite than yesterday, but still stiff.

Shen Lian stood up, the chains rattling. He deliberately moved his limbs slowly, as if they had been squatting for too long and were stiff.

Two captains flanked him on either side as they walked out. As they passed Fang Xuejian, Shen Lian heard him whisper, "Be careful."

Shen Lian took a deep breath, went through the numbers again, and mentally marked which ones should be played and which ones should be kept as trump cards.

"Squeezing toothpaste"—that was his strategy. If he poured it all out at once, Wei Liangbi would become suspicious; feeding him little by little would keep the other party from feeling that he still had something to offer and would make him reluctant to kill him.

He didn't turn around, but simply nodded slightly.